ASTANA (KazInform) — President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed concern over overcrowded prisons.

“Saule Mektepbayeva has brought up the subjects I feel strong concern about — reducing prison population”, the Head of State said at the VIII Civil Forum underway in Astana.

In the opinion of Nazarbayev, lawbreakers should not be sent to prison for all types of offences.

According to WPB in 2016, there where 39,179 prisoners in Kazakhstan while having a total capacity of 72,360. The pick of the prisoners was in 2002 with 84,812 persons incarcerated.