The bill, overwhelmingly approved by the Mazhilis, or lower chamber, was sent to the compliant Senate upper house. It will then be sent to President Nursultan Nazarbayev for signing.

Kazakhstan, an oil-rich nation five times the size of France and populated by 16.5 million people, celebrates Independence Day on Dec. 16.

Kazakhstan’s total prison population is currently 45,859 people, and another 6,605 people are in custody in pre-trial detention centers, according to interior ministry data.

Under the bill, those sentenced to up to five years in jail as well as juvenile offenders, women with children and those pregnant, pensioners and disabled persons are to be amnestied, Deputy Justice Minister Amirkhan Amanbayev said in parliament.

Presenting the document, he said the amnesty would also cover those in custody in pre-trial detention still awaiting sentence.

However, Amanbayev declined to say whether prominent Kazakh human rights defender Yevgeny Zhovtis would be released under the amnesty.

Zhovtis is serving a four-year prison term for killing a pedestrian while driving his car. Human rights bodies say they believe his trial was politically charged and unfair.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised his case during her visit to Kazakhstan at the end of last year.