Statement by Ph.D. Usen SULEIMEN, Director of “National Endowment for Prosperity” Fund, the Republic of Kazakhstan

Plenary Session 4: Rule of Law

(Prevention and eradication of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Exchange of views on the question of abolition of capital punishment; Protection of human rights when combating terrorism)

Torture

In Kazakhstan, legislative and organisational measures have been taken to ensure “zero tolerance” for torture.

The penalty for torture has been increased to 12 years' imprisonment. A separate offence of ill-treatment has been introduced.

Persons who have committed torture are not eligible for amnesty, statutes of limitations or reconciliation between the parties. From September 2025, they will also be ineligible for conditional early release.

From 2023, it is carried out only by the public prosecutor's office, with 90% of cases being handled electronically. This will eliminate any possibility of falsification and improve oversight of the investigation process.

A torture investigation methodology has been developed in line with the principles of the Istanbul Protocol.

Torture may be considered by a jury.

From 2023, medical care for prisoners is transferred to the Ministry of Health. This prevents departmental bias when recording torture.

All law enforcement agencies and penal institutions have 70,000 video cameras in place, to which prosecutors have online access.

Cameras both prevent torture and serve as evidence in criminal cases involving torture that has already occurred.

As a result, 77 individuals were convicted of torture in 2023-2024. These figures are more than the total for the previous three years (36). In the first eight months of this year, 13 police officers were convicted.

The National Preventive Mechanism is in place to prevent torture under the Ombudsman+ model.

The number of mandate institutions increased almost sixfold, from 597 to 3,700.

In 2023, regional ombudsmen were established in all regions of Kazakhstan. They complement the activities of the NPM and provide support to them when required.

Human Rights Protection in Counter-Terrorism Efforts

Kazakhstan classifies terrorism-related risks in line with the approach adopted by many other states including the EU, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany (terrorist propaganda, incitement to violence, organizational or financial support to banned entities, as well as the promotion of hatred). The country’s key priority is ensuring informational and public security while upholding the principles of freedom of expression.

About the death penalty, in 2022, amendments were introduced to the Criminal Code and the Constitution. The death penalty is prohibited.

Reference Information

On the torture of Danebayev

In a video previously posted on social media, prison staff threw several convicts, including Danebayev, to the floor and beat them with rubber sticks.

After the video appeared, the regional ombudsman and members of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) independently and without delay visited Mr. Danebayev, collected all relevant materials, and submitted them to the Prosecutor’s Office.

A pre-trial investigation was launched under Article 146(3)(1) of the Criminal Code – torture committed by a group of persons by prior agreement.

In February 2025, the jury acquitted the accused for lack of evidence of a crime.

At the protest of the prosecutor, the acquittal was overturned and the case was sent for a new trial.

The main court proceedings are currently underway with a new jury.

Regarding the January events

Each complaint was thoroughly investigated. Cases involving torture were primarily heard in open court. However, there were also a number of cases that were heard in secret.

Of the 17 cases investigated by special prosecutors, 50 Ministry of Internal Affairs and National Security Committee employees (12 from the National Security Committee and 38 from the Ministry of Internal Affairs) were brought to justice.

All 50 were convicted:

- 38 received prison sentences, 8 received restricted liberty sentences and 4 received suspended sentences.

Of these, 42 were convicted of torture (35 received actual imprisonment, 4 received restricted freedom and 3 received suspended sentences).

8 were convicted under other articles (3 received imprisonment, 4 received restricted liberty and 1 received a suspended sentence).

3 cases of torture during the January events are currently under investigation by special prosecutors (the proceedings have been suspended due to the perpetrators' inability to be identified).

On so-called political prisoners

There are no prisoners in Kazakhstan who have been convicted on so-called “political grounds”.

The individuals referred to have been convicted for specific criminal offences under the law.

They have committed extortion, bribery, fraud, rape, tax evasion, promoted terrorism, and so on.

For example, Ashirbekov raped a woman in his car.

Elshibayev, out of jealousy towards his wife, stabbed the victim in the chest, causing his death (the victim left behind a wife, two children and parents).

Before the end of his sentence, the court replaced the remainder of his imprisonment with a fine.

Yelshibayev did not appreciate the humanity shown to him and, upon his release, returned to a life of crime. He committed two thefts of personal property (on 23 April 2017 and 25 December 2018) and car theft (on 27 June 2018). These criminal cases were terminated due to reconciliation with the victims.

However, Yelshibayev did not learn his lesson and, while drinking alcohol with a friend, struck him in the eye with a broken bottle, causing him to go blind and become a disabled person of 2^nd group. These bodily injuries are classified as severe.

For this, he was sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment. The court recognised this as a repeat offence.

Utepov fraudulently obtained money from Baysariyeva (1 million 150 thousand tenge) and Pavlov (2 million tenge).

He also incited Baysariyeva to bribe officials.

Abzhan extorted money (50 million tenge) from the victim in exchange for not disseminating information that would discredit him.

Altayev received monthly bribes of US$5,000, totalling US$136,000 (50,123,400 tenge).

Amirov propagated the ideology of the religious organisation ‘Muslim Brotherhood Association’.

Mendygaziyev (released on 29 August 2025 after serving his sentence) evaded tax as part of an organised criminal group.

Zhylanbayev, Danebayev (released on 2 September 2025 after serving his sentence) and Mukhammedkarim were convicted of participating in a party banned by the court (DVK-Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan) with the aim of violently changing the constitutional order of the country and seizing power by force.

Mamai and Tleuzhan were convicted for organising and participating in mass riots.

Tokmadi confessed to the murder of E. Tatishev, Chairman of the Board of Bank Turan Alem JSC, on behalf of Ablyazov, and a procedural agreement on cooperation was concluded with him.

All those convicted were afforded a fair and impartial trial. The cases were considered by the courts objectively, fully and comprehensively. No argument put forward by the defence was ignored. All evidence was examined by the courts in accordance with the requirements of criminal procedure law.

In this regard, there are no ‘political prisoners’ in Kazakhstan.

The procedure for appealing judicial acts is provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure, and since 1 July 2025, a continuous cassation system has been introduced.

If they disagree with the verdict, convicts and their lawyers have the right to appeal it to higher courts.

According to Bekizhan Mendygaziyev and Barlyk Mendygaziyev

Bekizhan Mendygaziyev was convicted in 2022 for participating in an organised criminal group, tax evasion and money laundering, and sentenced to five years' imprisonment.

He has served his sentence.

Mendygaziyev Barlyk (brother of Mendygaziyev Bekizhan), through front companies (Taz Atyrau LLP, Atyrau Adal Stroy Service LLP, Fast Invest Group LLP) and his connections (N. Dauletyarova, R. Batkayev and B. Dzhusupov), illegally cashed out 1.2 billion tenge from income received from contracts with the foreign consortium Tengizchevroil (which has two active contracts with TCO, whose shareholders include Chevron Texaco).

At the same time, all financial transactions with these companies were made through fake contracts for non-existent services. The aim was to evade paying taxes.

The money obtained by criminal means (more than US$5 million) was transferred to bank accounts in the United States.

After the case started, he ran away from the investigators. The court ordered his arrest in his absence, and he was put on an international wanted list.

On the abolition of the death penalty

In September 2020, Kazakhstan signed the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aimed at abolishing the death penalty.

In 2021, the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan was brought into line with the Protocol, and the death penalty was completely removed from criminal law.

In a nationwide referendum on 5 June 2022, a provision prohibiting the use of the death penalty was added to the Constitution.

Protecting human rights in the fight against terrorism

Kazakhstan's criminal law defines terrorism as precisely those risks that are classified as unacceptable in the EU, the UK, the US and Germany (propaganda of terrorism, incitement to violence, organisational and financial support for prohibited structures, and incitement to hatred).

The wording of the provisions shows that the regulatory focus is not on the profession of ‘blogger’ as such, but on the content of the act: calls for violence, participation in/support for extremist organisations, propaganda of terrorism and incitement to hatred, including through social networks.

The EU has Directive (EU) 2017/541 on combating terrorism, which establishes minimum standards for criminalising ‘glorification’, public calls and training for terrorism, including online dissemination.

EU Member States have implemented criminal offences comparable to those in Kazakhstan (Articles 255–258 of the Criminal Code).

In the United States, 18 U.S.C. § 2339B (‘material support’) covers informational and other support to foreign terrorist organisations.

In essence, the regulatory decisions of developed countries confirm the legitimacy and necessity of the same prohibitions as in Kazakhstan.

Thus, first, ‘freedom of speech’ in international law does not cover propaganda for terrorism and public calls for violence. It may be restricted by law for the sake of national and public security and the protection of the rights of others.

Secondly, Kazakhstani legislation directly addresses the risks listed above and is integrated into the procedural framework of judicial control and official guidance.

Thirdly, the scale of online dissemination of extremist materials and the existence of high-profile cases involving public authors confirm the vulnerability of the digital sphere, rather than a ‘campaign against bloggers’.

Fourthly, international comparisons show that developed democracies use similar – sometimes even tougher – tools of criminal prosecution for “encouragement/glorification”, “material support” and participation in prohibited structures.

Kazakhstan’s approach prioritises information and public security while upholding constitutional freedom of expression and judicial guarantees. It is in line with global trends and international legal obligations.