Kazakhstan - Deprivation of Citizenship for Grave Crimes

Deprivation of Citizenship — A new legislation that has been initially approved by the deputies of the Kazakh Parliament, said the Minister of Justice of Kazakhstan Marat Beketayev on May 24. This sanction will apply from minor to very serious crimes such as terrorism, separatist activities, genocide, creation of extremist groups amongst others, explained Marat Beketayev.

Terrorism, as well as the aforementioned crimes, creates a serious concern for the state. Fears such as loss of Kazakh territories as in the Ukraine, are part of the issues trying to be preemptively avoided, to site one example.

Family life and the health and wellbeing of citizens are concerns of the upmost importance here, thus the deprivation of citizenship is not to be classed as punishment, but protection of such values and to remove those who jeopardize the security of the country in general. A ‘punishment’ as such, would be categorized as another matter entirely. Denationalization will only apply in exceptional cases where the public and Kazakh citizens may be put in danger, said Kazakhstan’s Minister of Justice. In saying that, the deprivation of citizenship is indeed used as a form of criminal punishment in many countries around the world, including more than 30 countries in Europe alone.

Dimitri Dolaberidze