OSCE supports expert meeting on treatment of life-sentence prisoners in Kazakhstan

An OSCE-supported expert meeting on the rights of persons sentenced to life imprisonment under the new draft Criminal Executive Code of Kazakhstan took place on 20 March 2014 in Almaty.

The event brought together parliamentarians, representatives of academia, legal practitioners and human rights activists. It was organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana in co-operation with the Legislative and Judicial Reform Committee of the Mazhilis (lower chamber of the Parliament) and the Public Foundation “Charter for Human Rights.”

The discussion focused on the specific needs of life-sentence prisoners resulting from the indeterminate duration of their sentences, legislative grounds and suitability for conditional release, the impact of long-term incarceration, and the roots of criminal behaviour of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment. The event participants also discussed the state of facilities used for life imprisonment, prison staff training and other staff arrangements within the prison system.  

The event was conducted as part of the Centre’s 2014 project “Improving legal safeguards for prisoners in the light of the penitentiary legislation reform in Kazakhstan.”