Nazarbayev signs law on countering pornography

Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev has signed a law on countering pornography, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the President’s press-service. According to the press-service, the President signed the law On ratification of the International convention for suppression of the circulation and traffic of obscene publications. The law was approved by the Kazakhstan parliament in April 2013. The law introduces punishment for production or storage of pornographic materials with a purpose of their sale, circulation or public display. Besides, it is considered a criminal offense to import, transit, export (personally or via third parties) pornographic materials, own or participate in a business related to any pornographic materials, circulate, publicly display or run a business consisting in rental of pornographic materials. Advertisement or disclosure of pornographic materials for the purpose of circulation or sale is also considered a criminal offense. The convention on suppression of the circulation and traffic of obscene publications was signed in Geneva on September 12, 1923. It was amended in November 1947 in New York.