The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2021
the offence, the characteristics of the defendant, including their mental state, and
other circumstances.37
However, the road to abolition was not linear. In the wake of a 2016 mass shooting in
Almaty, talk of lifting the moratorium on death sentences for terrorism resumed.38
In November 2016, a specialized district criminal court of Almaty city handed down a
death sentence for Ruslan Kulekbayev, who was found guilty of a shooting spree that
resulted in the death of eight police officers and two civilians.39 Later, on 1 January
2018, amendments to the Criminal Code that came into force raised the number of
offences subject to the death penalty from 18 to 19.40
Ultimately, abolition in Kazakhstan seems to have come about less as a specific goal
driven by individuals, but rather as part of wider reforms within the country and efforts to strengthen the state’s standing in the international community. These efforts
ultimately resulted in the initiation of the procedure for joining the Second Optional
Protocol to the ICCPR during the implementation of political reforms in December
2019. 41 Kazakhstan’s parliament passed a bill on 29 December 2020 to ratify this treaty and, on 2 January 2021, the President added his signature to this bill.42
As also shown by the Virginian experience, creating a system whereby death sentences are not frequently handed down, and alternatives are instead commonly used, can
lay the groundwork for abolition.
2. The role of civil society organizations (CSOs)
It is important to recognize the vital role that national bodies and organizations, and
in particular CSOs, play on a state’s road to abolition. They make a difference through
advocacy, engaging with politicians and State representatives, and are influential in
mobilizing public support for abolition. Drawing attention to problems associated with
the application of the death penalty, they can contribute to a change in public opinion.
37 Penal Reform International, The abolition of the death penalty and its alternative sanction in Central
Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, May 2013.
38 15 интересных фактов о смертной казни в РК [15 Interesting Facts about the Death Penalty in
Kazakhstan], 2 November 2016.
39 Following the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, Ruslan Kulekbayev will now face
life imprisonment, see section: abolitionist for ordinary crimes only.
40 “The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2019”, OSCE/ODIHR, op. cit., note 5, p. 55.
41 DW, Казахстан отменил смертную казнь. До конца? [Has Kazakhstan abolished the death penalty completely?], 25 September 2020.
42 Death Penalty Information Center, NEWS BRIEF-Kazakhstan Abolishes the Death Penalty.
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