Kazakhstan toughens punishment for rapists

AKIPRESS.COM - More than 1000 rape cases occurred in Kazakhstan in 2019, and more than a half of the rapists were able to evade accountability through reconciliation, Head of the Interior Ministry's Department of Investigation Sanzhar Adilov told Sputnik Kazakhstan.
15% of the rape victims were minors. 51% of rape cases were closed over reconciliation with the affected party.
But from 11 January 2020, the Kazakh laws do not allow reconciliation of rapists with the affected party. The bill toughening punishment for rape was signed into law by president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
"If before the rapist was able to avoid criminal liability by paying money or reconciliation with the affected party, now the law excludes any trade-offs. The rapist will be imprisoned," Adilov said.
All the rape cases will make it to the court, he added. At sentencing, rapists face from 5 to 8 years in prison, and 20 years to life in prison for raping a child.