President of Kazakhstan promised amnesty to prisoners
In Kazakhstan, in 2021, an amnesty will be held for some convicts. The country’s authorities intend to time such a goodwill gesture to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the country’s independence. This was announced by the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at an enlarged meeting of the collegium of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The meeting of the collegium was devoted to the results of the activities of the internal affairs bodies for the period of 9 months of 2020. Before the meeting, the head of state thanked all law enforcement officials for their work under difficult conditions of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the President recalled that during the years of Independence in Kazakhstan, 797 police officers were killed on duty, 2604 employees were seriously injured. Tokayev stressed that maintaining the stability of the state and the unity of society is the main task.
“Interethnic harmony, stability in society are our main values. People should be calm about their safety. The police must prove that they are enforcing law and order not only in words, but in deeds. You have to conduct an open dialogue with people – to know what they expect from the local police, and always be there when they need help. We will not be unable to gain confidence of Kazakh citizens in another way,” the President emphasized.
It should be noted that according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, more than 51 percent of Kazakh citizens do not trust police officers. The department received such results during a population survey.
Meanwhile, Tokayev said that in 2021, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence, in accordance with the law, an amnesty would be held for those prosecuted for crimes that do not pose a serious threat to the security of citizens and the state in whole.
“Against the background of the difficult economic situation in the country, the strengthening of criminality and the spread of the prison subculture must not be allowed in any case. It is obvious that the situation here remains unfavorable. There are still questions about the execution of punishments not related to imprisonment,” the head of Kazakhstan said.
According to the International Center for prison research, over 29 thousand prisoners are serving their sentences in prisons of Kazakhstan. In the ranking of countries concerning the number of prison population, the republic occupies the 100th place with an indicator of 157 convicts per 100 thousand inhabitants.
The maintenance of one prisoner costs the country’s budget about $ 200 monthly or $ 2500 per year.
