A significant role in this matter was played by the petition. In mid-November 2023, after the brutal murder of the wife of former Minister of National Economy Kuandyk Bishimbayev — Saltanat Nukenova — an important letter appeared on the Otinish website. The author of the 'Open Appeal to the President of Kazakhstan on the Reform of Criminal and Administrative Legislation Regarding Protection from Domestic Violence' is journalist Rahim Oshakbaev.
'The disproportionately lenient reaction of the law to minor offenses in the family sphere creates a sense of impunity among potential offenders and inevitably leads to more serious crimes, including murders. Often, the intervention of criminal law at this stage no longer saves the lives of women and children and becomes merely a delayed punishment for the committed acts. In this situation, we believe that the issue of criminalizing beatings and causing minor harm to health should be resolved as a priority, regardless of the adoption of the law on combating domestic violence,' the text of the message states. Marie Claire Kazakhstan, in turn, also called on the public and the president's office to pay attention to the important petition. At the time of writing, the open letter had gathered 150,888 signatures.
During an interview, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also drew attention to this letter. And although the petition was recognized as illegitimate by the Ministry of Justice last year, the president noted that the opinions of Kazakhstanis would definitely be taken into account. 'Regardless of whether the specified petition meets the legal requirements, the opinion of citizens presented in it will certainly be considered — there can be no doubt about that,' the head of state stated. We expect significant changes on this important issue as early as 2024.