Kazakhstan to penalize possession of certain books — provision added to law

Tengrinews.kz — Possession of certain literature in Kazakhstan will be considered a violation. This amendment is included in the draft law on the activities of special state bodies, which is being reviewed by the Mazhilis in its first reading.
As deputy Bolat Kerimbek noted, in addition to the existing legislative ban in Kazakhstan on the import, publication, production, and distribution of extremist and terrorist materials, the draft law proposes introducing a ban on their possession.
During the discussion of the amendments, Mazhilis deputy Dmitry Koloda recalled that the Code of Administrative Offenses already contains an article providing penalties for possession of prohibited literature. In this regard, he asked why a separate provision needed to be included in the special law.

“I would like to clarify with the deputy chairman of the National Security Committee: in addition to the legislative ban on the import, publication, production, and distribution of extremist and terrorist materials in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the draft law establishes an additional ban on their possession. As far as I know, current legislation, in particular the Code of Administrative Offenses, already provides liability for such acts. What is the need to include this norm in special laws aimed at countering terrorism and extremism? And is any revision of the penalties for violating it planned?” Dmitry Koloda asked.

Deputy Chairman of the NSC Almas Naimantayev replied that the norm is of a clarifying nature.

“This amendment is aimed solely at bringing the sectoral laws on countering extremism and terrorism into line with the Code of Administrative Offenses. You correctly noted that the Code of Administrative Offenses already establishes liability for possession of such materials. However, the sectoral laws currently prohibit only the import, production, and distribution of such materials. Therefore, these amendments will not lead to any change in liability, since the proposed changes are purely clarifying in nature,” the deputy head of the committee said.

Article 453 of the Code of Administrative Offenses provides separate penalties for individuals — a fine ranging from 20 to 200 MCI (86,500 to 865,000 tenge in 2026); for officials — a fine ranging from 25 to 300 MCI (108,125 to 1.2 million tenge); and for businesses — from 50 to 2,000 MCI (216,250 to 8.6 million tenge). The penalty depends on the severity of the offense.