Kazakhstan has announced the mass chemical castration of 11 paedophiles amid a drive to have the worst offenders have their genitals surgically removed.
All the men are believed to have committed crimes against the sexual inviolability of minors in the northern Kostanay region.
No details of the cases were given, but child sex offenders are beginning to be forced into libido-sapping injections this year.
Paedophiles were approved to be vaccinated 24 times a year at an annual cost of £278 each time.
The new sentences come amid a campaign in Kazakhstan to tighten current laws to allow surgical castration for the most serious child sex offenders.
All the men are alleged to have “committed crimes against the sexual inviolability of minors” in the Kostanay region in the north of the country.
No details of the cases were given, but child sex offenders are beginning to be forced into libido-sapping injections this year (pictured: a nurse performing chemical castration on a convicted paedophile)
The new sentences come amid a campaign in Kazakhstan to tighten current laws to allow surgical castration for the most serious child sex offenders.
And they coincide with the arrest of regional deputy from the ruling party Sekikhan Zhakupov, accused of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old boy.
If convicted under current laws, he could face chemical castration and a lengthy prison sentence.
Kazakhstan has one of the toughest laws against paedophiles in the world.
After they are released from prison, official information about their addresses is published so that parents can understand where potential danger lurks.
However, there are those who claim that the laws are not strict enough.
So far, around 30 men a year nationwide have faced chemical castration, but this figure is believed to be rising, with one in 17 regions reporting 11 new cases.
Elnur Beisenbaev, a lawmaker and executive secretary of the ruling Amanat Party, said the government was “cowardly” and pandering to paedophiles by not insisting on “surgical castration”.
“Unfortunately, (sex crimes against children) are occurring more and more frequently,” he said, suggesting that chemical castration, which reduces male libido by injecting anti-androgen drugs, was not effective.
And they coincide with the arrest of regional ruling party MP Sekikhan Zhakupov (pictured), accused of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old boy. If convicted under current legislation, he could face chemical castration and a lengthy prison sentence.
So far, around 30 men a year nationwide have faced chemical castration, but this figure is now thought to be rising, with one in 17 regions reporting 11 new cases.
“By letting a rapist go free, we are allowing him to reoffend,” he said.
Beisenbaev has vowed to continue pushing for a new law despite government concerns that his proposal violates human rights.
‘We are not suggesting that it be applied to all paedophiles, but we would like to give the courts the option of applying surgical castration.
“If a pedophile attack is particularly cruel, I think surgical castration should be applied…”
“There have been almost 450 of these crimes committed against children,” he said, adding: “Our government is showing its lack of courage by not approving surgical castration, as if we were violating the rights of paedophiles, because paedophiles are human beings. I believe they are not human beings.”