Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a law, previously approved by parliament, tightening penalties for the production and sale of drugs to life imprisonment.
"The law tightens criminal liability for the production of drugs, as well as for the production, processing and manufacture of drugs by officials. Now, for these crimes, the perpetrators can be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 15 to 20 years or life imprisonment with confiscation of property,“ the statement said.
The press service pointed out that the law retains strict sanctions for persons distributing drugs as part of a criminal group in educational organizations, among minors, providing for a punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 15 to 20 years with confiscation of property.
The law also tightened the criminal liability of officials for distributing drugs. If previously for these crimes they were threatened with imprisonment for a term of 10 to 15 years with confiscation of property, now they are subject to imprisonment for a term of 15 to 20 years with confiscation of property.
At the same time, the punishment for drug hostages has been slightly mitigated. For committing such a crime for the first time without aggravating circumstances, the law provides for imprisonment for a term of 5 to 8 years with confiscation of property, the statement said. Previously, the punishment ranged from 5 to 10 years with confiscation of property.