Pardon for President's Son-in-Low, Convicted to 40 Years of Jail?

Nazarbayev has understanding of human weaknesses and can forgive those who repent

 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev says he is not a man to bear grudges and can forgive if asked to.

"I can be a forgiving person unless it does not affect my work and my country. In general, I am not a vengeful person. I am not a person who can bear grudges. I am ready to forgive a person who regrets his mistakes and is willing to stand beside me," Nursultan Nazarbayev said during a Friday live forum.

He said that many people could tell that it is a trait of his character.

"I did that many times. The case with the journalist Gabdulin, who once violated the law, was prosecuted and lived in exile, could be a vivid example. He sent a letter through an ambassador asking me for forgiveness. I understood and sympathized with him. He is now working in Kazakhstan, we meet often and I am glad that I have done that," Nazarbayev said.

The journalist Bigeldin Gabdulin is currently an editor-in-chief of the Central Asia Monitor newspaper.

However, Nazarbayev added, "sometime it happens when your forgiveness turns against you."

"I have guided so many young people during those years. Though, in some cases it was a waste of time. In the 90-s they were young graduates and I gave them a chance to grow up and gave them jobs. Some of them have left to lead a quite life, but others are still acting as if they have been treated unfairly trying vehemently to prove that they are right," the president said.

"If someone with a light heart and open soul asks me for forgiveness, I am ready то listen to what a person has to say and give him another chance, if it's not a crime against law. Even so, I still, have the right to grant a pardon, if the police says the person has a spirit of reconciliation," the president said.

Interfax-Kazakhstan