Kazakhstan abolishes death sentence for all grades of crimes!

The central Asian country of Kazakhstan has done a major legal reform. It has abolished death sentence. For nearly two decades now there was a freeze on capital punishment in this dictator-run country of Central Asia. But now this freeze has been made permanent by passing a law. 

Kazakhstan and its abolition of the death sentence

The authoritarian Central Asian country of Kazakhstan used to give capital punishments and death sentences to criminals. But since the last twenty years, there was a freeze on any form of capital punishment. But now this temporary freeze has been made permanent. The government has now passed a law that has abolished death sentences for all convicts. This notice was published on the website of the President on Saturday 2 January 2021. This seems to be a new year gift to the lawbreakers. 

Kazakhstan [Source: IEA]

Details of the website Presidential notice

The notice on the Presidential website mentioned that their President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed on parliamentary ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and  Political Rights. This is a document that makes it mandatory for the signatories to abolish all forms of capital punishment in his or her country. 

Death sentence abolition [Source: Milton Keynes Citizen]

Disinformation crisis of the USA-reason and solution! Read here

Since 2003, the country has not done any executions. But despite that, the Court continued to give death sentences to convicts in certain exceptional cases. These included terror crimes. There was a lone gunman named Ruslan Kulekbayev who had killed 8 policemen and also 2 civilians when he went on a rampage in Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city in the year 2016. He had a death sentence given to him and would have been executed if the freeze was lifted. But now, he will continue to remain in jail for life. He has been saved a death penalty as of now. 

The other world countries that have abolished the death penalty

Out of the 195 countries of the United Nations, 105 have completed abolished death sentence for all grades of crimes. But 54 countries continue to offer it to its convicts. And 8 countries give it to the most prolific killers such as for war crimes. And the remaining 28 countries are abolitionist in practice. China has the maximum executions and these are done in secret. In this century, the following countries abolished the death penalty: Ivory Coast (2000), Senegal (2004), Rwanda (2007), Burundi (2009), Togo (2009), Gabon (2010), Congo (2015), Madagascar (2015), Benin (2016), Guinea (2017), and Chad (2020).