Though there is no consensus on the exact date the crisis began, many point to 27 March 2019, when the Mongolian Parliament adopted an unprecedented law empowering the National Security Council of Mongolia to recommend the dismissal of judges, prosecutors, and the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency.
In November 2018 Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh survived a vote of no confidence in the wake of a 2018 scandal involving the fraudulent allocation of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund.
On 27 March, Parliament convened to ratify the law, where they first viewed and discussed the classified footage of the torture of Sanjaasürengiin Zorig's alleged murderers before voting.
[9] The torture video was shown to journalists on 29 March 2019, who were then allowed to convey its contents to the general public through written descriptions and drawings.
[10] Amnesty International of Mongolia published an announcement on 28 March 2019, stating that the recently ratified law posed a serious threat to the independence of the judiciary branch and increased the risk of further illegal torture.