Lawyer Opposes Lowering Criminal Liability Age in Kazakhstan, Citing Risks for Juvenile Offenders

Orda.kz recently reported that Swedish authorities are considering lowering the age of criminal liability from 15 to 13, citing rising juvenile crime rates. 

In Kazakhstan, minors under 14 are not held legally accountable for serious crimes; instead, their parents face administrative responsibility. Yet, the consequences of such offenses are often severe, shocking in their cruelty.

While parents cannot be imprisoned for their children’s actions, some now ask whether Kazakhstan should follow Sweden’s example.

Lawyer Galym Nurpeisov believes that such a measure would be misguided. According to him, the roots of the problem lie at the top levels of power, and the younger generation lacks proper ideals because power and money dominate:

The human right to property has become absolute in Kazakhstan. From the events of Qantar, we saw that the right to life is not the highest value in our society, even though it’s declared in the Constitution. The state prioritizes its own security and will always eliminate any threat to it,
 said the human rights activist.

Preventing juvenile delinquency isn’t about tightening laws. Our leaders don’t understand this. They’re enriching themselves but doing nothing for the future. If we don’t work with young people, they’ll create their own rules. The Zoomer revolution in Southeast Asia is a good example — no one worked with them, so they developed their own values,
 he said.

The lawyer emphasized the need for a national ideology to shape youth values.

While five years may seem short on a national scale, it is enough for a child to form a worldview. Today, children and teenagers draw much of their influence from the internet, and it is unclear who they choose as role models.

Young people will always seek idols. If you don’t give them a hero, they’ll find one anyway. And it’s good if it’s a positive figure — but what if it’s a destructive one?
 Nurpeisov warned.

Robbery is often motivated by personal gain. But the young men I defended weren’t after money — they sought respect. Their motives are completely different. That’s why juvenile courts exist. You can’t apply the same methods to children as to mentally stable adults. If you prosecute too early, the result may be the opposite,
 he said.

In Kazakhstan, many people end up back in prison after release,
he noted, adding that greater efforts are needed to rehabilitate ex-prisoners and prevent intergenerational cycles of crime.

Nurpeisov concluded that penalties should be tougher for adult offenders who recruit minors into criminal activity. He cited Japan and China as examples of societies where children are socialized from an early age and taught collective responsibility.

Original Author: Ksenia Kleeva