Kazakhstan Enacts Stricter Penalties for Attacks on Healthcare Workers

New amendments to Kazakhstan's Criminal Code, which came into force on March 7, 2026, introduce harsher punishments for violence and threats against medical personnel. The changes establish a dedicated article criminalizing assaults on the life, health, and safety of healthcare workers and ambulance drivers while they perform their duties.

The legislation outlines a tiered system of penalties. Threatening a medical worker now carries a fine of 200 to 500 monthly calculation indices (MCI), corrective labor of the same amount, up to 300 hours of community service, or restriction or deprivation of liberty for up to two years. If aggravating circumstances are present, the punishment increases to two or three years of restricted or deprived liberty.

For non-life-threatening violence, the sanctions are more severe: fines from 500 to 1,000 MCI, equivalent corrective labor, up to 600 hours of community service, or imprisonment for two to three years. Violence that endangers a worker's life or health is punishable by five to ten years in prison, with sentences extending from seven to twelve years if aggravating factors apply.

Alongside these legal changes, authorities are implementing enhanced security measures at medical facilities. Medium-term plans include equipping over 2,100 paramedics with body cameras and installing panic buttons in 636 emergency departments. Furthermore, video surveillance systems with intelligent analytics will be integrated, and round-the-clock police posts will be maintained at 152 hospitals across the country.

The President has previously stated that incidents harming the well-being of healthcare professionals must be decisively stopped within the legal framework. Official data indicates that since 2019, more than 280 attacks on doctors, paramedics, nurses, and other health system employees have been registered in Kazakhstan.