A. Y. Khegay - the first president of the MPC, professor, laureate of international and national human rights contests. Calling - Human Rights Defender.
In 1960 he graduated from the Law Faculty of KazSU and was sent to the Akmola region. He began his work as an investigator of the district prosecutor’s office, then he was an assistant to the prosecutor of Tselinny Krai, later a prosecutor of the Makinsky district of the Tselinograd region, first deputy prosecutor of the Mangyshlak region, and the prosecutor of Ak-Tyube region. About ten years Arkady Yuryevich was in senior positions in the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 1989, he was prematurely presented to the rank of State Counselor of Justice of the 3rd class, i.e. Major General of Justice. He was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor, medals and diplomas. But behind these high regalia there is tremendous work. He did a lot because he had real professional colleagues nearby.
The most significant period of his life Arkady Yurievich considers 14 years of work in the Tselinny Territory. He is convinced that the epic of the development of virgin lands was not only a unique stage in the history of domestic and world agriculture, but also a genuine school of friendship of peoples, the formation of new social relations. People went to the virgin lands from all over the country, especially there were a lot of young people, but, unfortunately, there were a lot of repeat offenders and criminals in the past, although this was almost never mentioned. Law enforcement officials and prosecutors worked under heavy pressure. The enthusiasm and the knowledge that you are doing a useful thing helped a lot in the work.
Khegay A.Yu. believes that at that time much things were simpler and more humane - both the people themselves and the attitude towards people who committed offenses. Comradely courts existed in labor collectives. Often collectives took the offender on bail, the person avoided prison, corrected himself, justified trust.
But, of course, not everything was so rosy, there were many serious crimes and murders. There was such a moment in the work of Arkady Yurievich, when he had to justify several women who committed serious crimes with the necessary defense. After that, women in Makinsky district both jokingly and seriously told their husbands: “Don’t scare me, we have Khegay.”
During this period that Khegay A.Y. honed his professionalism. And now the honored worker of the prosecutor's office in the forefront of human rights defenders. He became a human rights defender at the behest of the soul, because the prosecutor’s office, to which he gave many years of his life, is not only a body of supreme oversight, but also a human rights organization. And so he claims that he continues to engage in his professional activities - the protection of human rights and freedoms, which are the highest value of the state.
As president of the International Human Rights Center (MPC), Arkady Yuryevich Khegay defends and advoates the rights of ordinary citizens, especially the poor - those who are called socially vulnerable. He takes up obviously unpromising cases and wins them in court. He is sought for help by those who are faced with bureaucratic arbitrariness or find themselves in a difficult alteration from which they cannot get out alone, without the help of a lawyer.
Arkady Yurievich devotes much time and energy to protecting the rights of refugees and repressed citizens. In 1995, on the recommendation of the Assembly of the Peoples of Kazakhstan, Arkady Yuryevich was included in the working group for the rehabilitation of victims of political repression under the Office of the President, which submitted to the government a draft law "On Amendments and Additions to the Law on the Rehabilitation of Victims of Mass Political Repressions", after which 132 thousand people received the long-awaited rehabilitation through the courts then, including Arkady Yuryevich himself was rehabilitated.
Since 2000, he is a member of the UN working group on deported peoples and since 2003, a member of the board of "Zhanashir - Mercy."
On his personal initiative, several programs were implemented on the social and legal protection issues of refugees, repressed, disabled people and other socially vulnerable groups of the population. Being the chairman of the Public Association “Kazakhstan Prison Reform”, he actively helps those who, by chance, ended up in places of imprisonment. Under his leadership, an alternative draft law on the humanization of criminal law was prepared and submitted to the Majilis of Parliament, which proposed over 150 amendments and additions to the existing legislation.
General Khegay is one of the active supporters of the abolition of the death penalty in Kazakhstan, many of the media published his materials on this topic. For his active work on media coverage, he became a laureate of the OSCE and PRI international prize. Since 1998, a public reception has been operating at the MPC office, where many poor citizens have received and continue to receive a free legal assistance!
A.Y. Khegay was a member of the working group of the National Commission on Democracy and Civil Society under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and is now a member of the UN working group on deported peoples and the Almaty City Coordinating Council of NGOs. He made a number of relevant proposals for the development of democracy and judicial reform in the republic. Being a professor of the social and humanitarian institute “Daryn” A.Y. Khegay continues to transfer his knowledge and experience to a young generation, future human rights defenders of Kazakhstan.
Arkady Yuryevich was a participant in the I and 5th Civil Forum in Kazakhstan and believes that the system of interaction between the government and NGOs has now gained a new round of development. At the 5th Congress of NGOs, he was awarded the title "Social Innovator of Kazakhstan."
Any human life and destiny is valuable for him. The most joyful moments and a real holiday for the soul, by his own admission, when a person offended by injustice leaves calm and satisfied, with hope and faith in the future. People who turn to him for help, see with what responsibility and seriousness Khegay approaches the case, how sincere and sympathetic, he cannot be different, because protecting ordinary people, upholding their rights, restoring justice in relation to they remain his main life principle and vocation.