President Tokayev denies pardon to Karim Massimov
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev refused granting a pardon to the ex-Chairman of the National Security Committee, Karim Massimov, Kazinform News Agency quotes Marat Bashimov, Chairman of the National Commission on Issues of Pardon, as saying.
Marat Bashimov reminded that in Kazakhstan, the right to grant a pardon belongs to the President.
"The Commission on Issues of Pardon recommended the President to deny pardon to Karim Massimov, which the President agreed on,” Bashimov said.
Earlier Kazinform reported that the former head of the National Security Committee (NSC), Karim Massimov, requested a pardon from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev by sending a petition in March 2024.
On April 24, 2023, the Astana court announced a guilty verdict for the former NSC head, Karim Massimov, who was sentenced to 18 years under Part 1 of Article 175 (treason), Part 3 of Article 179 (violent seizure of power), and Point 3 of Part 4 of Article 362 (abuse of power and official authority) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. His former deputies Anvar Sadykulov, Daulet Ergozhin, and Marat Osipov were sentenced to 16, 15, and three years, respectively.
At the beginning of January 2022, the NSC reported that they had detained the former head of the committee. The criminal case against him was classified as “top secret.” Massimov was pinpointed as the primary orchestrator of the events in January in Kazakhstan, which led to the deaths of 238 civil citizens.
