ASTANA -- The Kazakh parliament's upper chamber, the Senate, has approved a bill granting mass amnesty to hundreds of people charged and imprisoned in connection with violent antigovernment protests in January that claimed at least 238 lives.
The bill approved by the Senate on October 27 must be signed by President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev to become law.
According to the text of the bill, the amnesty will affect more than 1,500 people who were arrested and charged over their involvement in the protests on January 4-7, as well as in dispersal of the demonstrators.
Those who committed minor crimes will be released and all charges against them will be dropped, while those who were convicted of serious crimes will have their prison terms cut by half or three-quarters. Individuals found guilty of terrorism, extremism, high treason, corruption, and organization of mass disorders will not be affected by the amnesty, the bill says.
SEE ALSO: In Astana, EU Council President Charles Michel Calls For Closer Ties With Central AsiaToqaev announced the mass amnesty plan in early September as human rights groups and political activists in the Central Asian nation demanded a full investigation into the deadly dispersal of the protests.
Many in Kazakhstan, including relatives of those killed during the unrest, have demanded an explanation from Toqaev on his decision to invite Russia-led troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization to disperse the protests, as well as his public "shoot to kill without warning" order.
The unrest occurred after a peaceful demonstration in the western region of Manghystau on January 2 over a fuel-price hike tapped into deep-seated resentment of the country's leadership, leading to widespread antigovernment protests.
Thousands of people were detained by officials during and after the protests, which Toqaev said were caused by "20,000 terrorists" from abroad, a claim for which authorities have provided no evidence.
Human rights groups have provided evidence that peaceful demonstrators and people who had nothing to do with the protests were among those killed by law enforcement and military personnel.
In his September 1 address, Toqaev announced that all of those arrested or convicted for taking part in the January unrest, as well as law enforcement officers arrested for alleged beating and torturing the detained protesters, will be granted clemency.
Rights activists have said the mass amnesty was initiated to help law enforcement officers who opened fire at unarmed demonstrators evade accountability.