Senator Calls for Overhaul of Criminal Procedure Over Baseless Prosecutions

Senator Amangeldy Nugmanov has sharply criticized current criminal procedures, stating that cases are often initiated without proper evidence, leading to account freezes, home searches, and ultimately quiet closures due to the absence of corpus delicti, Orda.kz reports.

He argued that such practices harm businesses and infringe on citizens’ rights, with victims receiving neither apologies nor compensation.

As part of the 2014 reform, the institute of pre-investigation check was excluded from the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Instead, a norm was introduced according to which registration in the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations automatically initiates criminal proceedings. Practice has shown that this has turned into a legal loophole, allowing criminal prosecution to be initiated even without objective evidence,
 the senator stated.

According to Nugmanov, approximately 80,000 cases were dropped in 2021 due to insufficient evidence, and another 70,000 in 2022 — each representing disrupted lives and ruined reputations, with no accountability for those responsible:

I ask that a comprehensive revision of the Criminal, Criminal Procedure and other codes be ordered. Restore the institution of pre-investigation checks, introduce a legal filter before the start of pre-trial investigations, strengthen the protection of citizens' rights, determine clear amounts of fines and terms of imprisonment, and introduce personal liability of officials for illegal actions. 

The state, he emphasized, should be required to issue public apologies and offer compensation when criminal cases are launched without proper grounds.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova