Country Report on Terrorism 2024 - Chapter 1 - Kazakhstan

Country Overview:  Kazakhstan continued its three-year program to counter terrorism with broad law-enforcement discretion, including the Border Guard Service, preventing 824 suspected terrorists from entering the country.  Kazakhstan facilitated the reintegration of returnees from Iraq and Syria through rehabilitation programs.  Internationally, Kazakhstan partnered with the United States, the UN Development Program, and the OSCE on CT projects and reinforced cooperation with Russia, China, and other regional partners.  NGOs and observers expressed concerns regarding the broad application of terrorism and related laws against political opponents and non-violent religious groups.  Kazakhstan maintained a comprehensive counterterrorism legal framework, led by the Committee for National Security (KNB), which coordinated efforts at the national and local levels.  There were no significant legislative changes in 2024.  The government continued to implement its three-year program to counter terrorism, adopted in 2023.  In June, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Information introduced the Mass Media Law, obliging mass media to cooperate with government bodies in countering terrorism.  The law also prohibits the media from promoting or justifying terrorism, and from disseminating information on the tactics and techniques of counterterrorism operations.

Kazakhstan’s Border Guard Service (part of the KNB) and other agencies prevented citizens of Kazakhstan and foreigners with suspected terrorist links from traveling to, from, or through the country in line with UNSC resolution 2396.  KNB conducted more than 340 counterterrorism drills and, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, conducted security assessments of more than 3,400 public and government facilities, as part of the 2023-25 national action plan to enhance Kazakhstan’s counterterrorism and prevention framework.  The government prosecuted fighters and others suspected of participation in terrorism in Iraq and Syria and allowed some returnees to reintegrate into their communities, with access to state-supported theological counseling and psychological, social, and educational services.  Kazakhstan repatriated six citizens from Syria and sentenced two of them; the remaining four are under investigation.  Overall, 37 male returnees continued to serve prison sentences, while all previously imprisoned female returnees were released on parole.

The KNB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the MCI used the Kibernadzor (“Cyber Supervision”) system to detect content promoting terrorism, identifying more than 34,000 online violations, primarily on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.  International media platforms’ compliance with government takedown requests remained low.  Kazakhstan’s counter terrorist financing efforts are consistent with previous years.  Kazakhstan continued partnering with the United States and international organizations such as UNDP, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and the OSCE on a variety of counterterrorism projects.  Kazakhstan continued participation in the Regional Antiterrorist Structure and joint counterterrorism exercises to improve coordination within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Collective Security Treaty Organization.  Kazakhstan also deepened intelligence sharing with Russia following the 2024 terrorist attacks in Russia and continued to cooperate with China to monitor terrorist groups linked to transnational networks.  Kazakhstan has reinforced collaboration with Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, focusing on border security and preventing terrorist infiltration.

2024 Terrorism Trends:  The KNB reported disrupting and preventing three terrorist attacks, including one at a correctional center in Almaty Region in 2024.  The KNB also deported more than 280 foreigners from Kazakhstan for promoting or supporting violence and prevented the entry of 824 foreign citizens suspected of involvement in terrorism or pro-violent religious ideologies.  Seventeen individuals were convicted of terrorist activities and activities related to the support of terrorism, while the KNB continued pretrial investigations for 20 others at year’s end.