Kazakhstan announces mass chemical castration of 11 paedophiles amid campaign for worst offenders to have their genitals surgically removed
Kazakhstan has announced the mass chemical castration of 11 paedophiles as part of a campaign to surgically remove the genitals of the worst offenders.
All the men are alleged to have committed “crimes against the sexual integrity of minors” in the Kostanay region in the north of the country.
No details were given about the cases, but the child abusers are being force-fed injections this year that sap their libido.
Permission was given for the paedophiles to be vaccinated 24 times a year, at an annual cost of £278 per person.
The new penalties follow a campaign in Kazakhstan for tougher laws to allow surgical castration for the most serious perpetrators of child abuse.
All men are alleged to have committed “crimes against the sexual integrity of minors” in the Kostanay region in the north of the country
No details were given about the cases, but the child abusers began forcibly administering injections that sap the libido this year (pictured: a nurse performing the chemical castration of a convicted pedophile).
The new penalties come amid a campaign in Kazakhstan to tighten current laws allowing surgical castration for the most serious child abusers.
And they coincide with the arrest of regional ruling party MP Sekikhan Zhakupov, who is accused of sexually abusing a seven-year-old boy.
If found guilty under current law, he could face chemical castration and a lengthy prison sentence.
Kazakhstan has one of the strictest laws in the world regarding pedophiles.
After their release from prison, official information about their address is published so that parents know where danger may lurk.
However, it is claimed that the laws are not strict enough.
So far, about 30 men have been chemically castrated each year in the country. However, this number is expected to rise: in one in 17 regions, 11 new cases are reported.
Elnur Beisenbaev, a member of parliament and executive secretary of the ruling Amanat party, said the government was “spineless” and was pandering to pedophiles by not pushing for “surgical castration.”
‘Unfortunately, [sex crimes against children] “are happening more and more often,” he said, suggesting that chemical castration, which involves lowering male libido through injections of anti-androgenic drugs, is not effective.
And they coincide with the arrest of regional ruling party MP Sekikhan Zhakupov (pictured), who is accused of sexually abusing a seven-year-old boy. If convicted under current laws, he could face chemical castration and a lengthy prison sentence.
Until now, around 30 men across the country have been subjected to chemical castration each year, but this number is now thought to be rising, with one in 17 regions reporting 11 new cases
“If we release a rapist, we give him the opportunity to commit the same crime again,” he said.
Beisenbayev has vowed to continue pushing for a new law despite government concerns that his proposal violates human rights.
‘We do not recommend applying it to all paedophiles, but we do want to give the courts the possibility to perform surgical castration.
“If a pedophile attack is particularly brutal, I believe surgical castration should be used…”
Nearly 450 such crimes have been committed against children, he said, adding: “Our government shows its lack of backbone by not approving surgical castration, as if we were violating the rights of pedophiles, because pedophiles are human beings. I believe they are not human beings.”