Kazakhstan police will no longer post videos of offenders publicly apologizing on social media. Instead, they will showcase officers sweeping streets or assisting the elderly. This change was announced on March 18th by the official spokesperson of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Shyngys Alekeshev.
Alekeshev stated that the Ministry has abandoned the practice of publicly shaming offenders, as it was creating a perception among the public that individuals were evading true accountability.
Moving forward, the Ministry intends to demonstrate how offenders will be fulfilling community service tasks to ensure the principle of inevitable punishment. This aims to emphasize that everyone is equal before the law in a legal state.
Citizens still have the right to publicly apologize on their social media pages. The specific community service tasks will be determined by the local executive body, and the police will oversee their completion. The main goal of these tasks is to publicly reprimand offenders.
Previously, the Ministry had shared videos of offenders publicly apologizing. For instance, in November 2022, false information spread on social media about a teacher in Kaskelen allegedly having a VIP pass from the Ministry. It was later revealed that this "teacher" was not an employee of the educational institution and publicly apologized on November 10th.
