Kazakhstan plans to decriminalize insulting Nazarbayev

Deputies of the Mazhilis (lower house of parliament) of Kazakhstan are considering a bill that will abolish criminal liability for insulting the first president of the republic, Nursultan Nazarbayev. About it informed portal Zakon.kz with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Justice of the country.

We are talking about articles that now provide for criminal liability for public insult and other infringement on the honor and dignity of the first president and violation of the guarantees of his immunity, they said.

Snezhanna Imasheva, Chairman of the Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal Reform of the Mazhilis, in turn, recalled that in 2022, the title of “leader of the nation” (elbasy) was excluded from the constitution of Kazakhstan.

“These articles are no longer needed in the Criminal Code, there is no need for them, since the very status of the Elbasy no longer exists. Therefore, criminal liability is no longer needed and is not applied,” she said.

On June 5, 2022, a referendum was held in Kazakhstan to amend the Constitution. Then it was proposed to delete the article on the status, privileges and powers of the first president. The norm on the immutability of Nazarbayev’s status as the leader of the nation was also excluded. One of the changes was the exclusion of the article on the status and powers of the first president of the country, as well as the provision that allowed him to be elected to the post of head of state more than twice in a row.

In February of this year, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a document on recognizing the law “On the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy” as invalid. After the repeal of the law, Nazarbayev no longer has the right to address the people and state bodies, participate in government meetings and speak before parliament with initiatives on state building, foreign and domestic policy, and the country’s security.

Nazarbayev, as was reported at the time, would retain some immunity privileges based on two laws – on treason and the immunity of ex-presidents.