Kazakhstan — Legal Help

Selling sex is not itself a criminal offence in Kazakhstan, but the 2014 Criminal Code criminalises inducing someone into prostitution (article 308) and organising brothels or pimping (article 309), so every venue and intermediary is technically illegal and subject to periodic raids. The age of consent is 16; any commercial sexual contact with a person under 18 is prosecuted severely. Police emergency 102 (112 also works). If detained: stay calm, insist on consular notification and an interpreter, and do not sign documents in Russian or Kazakh you cannot read. If a bribe is hinted at, paying one is itself a crime — ask for a written protocol instead.

Western embassies are in Astana, with consulates(-general) in Almaty; they can provide English-speaking lawyer lists, visit detainees and notify family, but cannot interfere in the Kazakh legal process, which runs in Russian/Kazakh and moves slowly.