Political crimes and the differences between them and non-political crimes

Political crimes and the differences between them and non-political crimes under Iranian law

This article will discuss political crimes and the differences between them and non-political crimes such as crimes related to national security under Iranian law.

Thirty-seven years following the victory of the Iran Islamic revolution, the “political crime” bill was ratified by the Iranian Parliament and approved by the Council of Guardians. The most important advantage of this regulation is defining the term “political crime” and determining its difference from “national security crimes” And “non-political crimes”.

Essentially the second and third Articles of the Political Crime Bill (the “Bill”) have defined both political and non-political crimes to prevent future confusion. But what do the members of Parliament consider political crimes?

 

Definition of political crimes under Iranian law

The Bill stipulates that every crime listed in Article 2 of this act will be considered a political crime: “if the offense is committed with the motive of reforming the affairs of the country against the management and political institutions or the domestic or foreign policy of the country without the intention of the striking regime.”

As a matter of clarification, the term “regime in Iran” refers to the government of the “Islamic Republic of Iran”.

In the Bill, the main focus of the legislator is on the intention and moral motivation rather than focusing on specific action or conduct which is a constituent element of a crime. This attitude is based on the “motivation to reform the country’s affairs without striking the regime.” Therefore, it can be said that any action motivated and intended to strike at the regime’s core is considered a national security crime and is not a mere political crime.

 

The applicability of the political crime or political offenses in Iran’s legal system

According to Article 1 of the Bill: “Each of the crimes specified in Article (2) of this law is committed with the motive of reforming the affairs of the country, against the administration and political institutions or internal or foreign policies of the country, without the perpetrator intending to attack the principle of the regime is a political crime.”

In accordance with Article 2 of the Bill The following actions are political crimes if the conditions stipulated in Article 1 above have been met:

1- Insulting the heads of the three powers of the country, the chairman of the Expediency Council, vice presidents, ministers, members of the parliament, members of the Assembly of Leadership Experts, and members of the Guardian Council acting in their capacity.”

2- insulting the political head or representative of a foreign country that has entered the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran in compliance with the provisions of Article 517 of the Islamic Penal Code.”

Article 517 of the Penal Code of the Islamic Penal Code (Click to read more Islamic Penal code) stipulates that: “anyone who openly insults a foreign president or his political representative who has entered the territory of Iran is sentenced to one to three months in prison rest on a reciprocal deal between two countries.”

3- The “violation of the legitimate freedoms of others” and “accusation, defamation, and publication of false statement” by political parties and social groups, which is enshrined in paragraph 16, Article 16, of the Law on the Activities of Parties, Associations, Political and Trade Unions, and Islamic Associations or Religious Minorities.

If the political parties and social groups commit the above-mentioned prohibited conduct via their publications, gatherings, and other activities, provided that their action is intended to reform the country and not offend the regime, their crime shall be considered political. Therefore, it will be prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of the Bill.

4- The crimes stipulated in the laws on the election of the members of the “Assembly of Leadership Experts”, the presidency, the Parliament, and the “Islamic City and Village Consultive Councils”, with the exception of the conducts of the officials in charge of the execution of the election. The actions taken by the candidates or their supporters relating to the election’s campaign are considered political.

5- The fifth and final example of a political crime is the “publication of false statements.”

In general, as clarified in the Press Law is the publication of false statements in the press and media however, in the Bill, publication of false statements is mainly connected to publishing false statements through distributing night letters or spreading lies publicly, which are outside the scope of press laws and could be prosecuted and charged as a public crime.

 

Non-political crimes in Iran

In Article 3 of the Bill, the legislator has listed the crimes that are excluded from the scope of political crimes.

The above-mentioned article states that “directing, participating in, assisting and committing the following crimes may not be considered as a political wrongful action and may be punished as an ordinary crime in accordance to the Iran Penal Code.

1. Crimes subjected to corporal punishment, Talion (eye for an eye), and Wergild (blood money);
2. Attempt the assassination of domestic and foreign officials;
3. Kidnapping, hostage-taking;
4. Bombing and bomb scare, hijackings, and piracy;
5. Robbery and looting of property, arson, and deliberate destruction;
6. Illegal possession and carrying, smuggling, trafficking, and sale of weapons, drugs, and psychotropic substances;
7. Bribery, embezzlement, misappropriation of government funds, money laundering, concealment of property resulting from the crime;
8. Espionage and disclosure of secrets (i.e., governmental secrets);
9. Inciting people to aggression, war and killing, and conflict;
10. Disruption of data streams or computer networks and telecommunication systems used to provide essential public or government services, and
11. All crimes against public decency and morality, including crimes committed by computer or telecommunication systems or data carriers or otherwise.

These crimes are mostly considered anti-regime and anti-national security crimes regardless of the motive behind committing these crimes; hence the perpetrator will be prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of other crimes.

Therefore, any action motivated and intended to strike at the regime’s stability and survival is a security crime, not a political one.

 

The crimes against national security under Iranian law

The crimes against national and foreign security of the state have been listed under chapter five of the Iran Penal Code from Articles 498 to 512. For a general overview of these crimes, please find below their titles:

 

Article 498

Anyone, with any ideology, who establishes or directs a group, society, or branch, inside or outside the country, with any name or title, that constitutes more than two individuals and aims to perturb the security of the country, if not considered as Mohareb (Article 279 of Iran Penal Code that in the following, we will discuss), shall be sentenced to two to ten years of imprisonment.

 

Article 499

Anyone who joins, as a member, any of the groups, societies, or branches aforementioned in article 498, shall be sentenced to three months to five years of imprisonment unless it is proved that he had been unaware of its aims.

 

Article 500

Anyone who engages in any type of propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran or in support of opposition groups and associations, shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment.

 

Article 501

Anyone who, knowingly and intentionally, provides maps or secrets or documents and decisions regarding the national or international policies of the State to those who are not authorized to have access, or who informs them about their content in a way that constitutes espionage, taking into consideration the circumstances and stages [of the crime], shall be sentenced to one to ten years of imprisonment.

 

Article 502

Anyone who commits one of the espionage crimes inside Iran in favor of a foreign State and against another foreign State, if damages the national security [of Iran] shall be sentenced to one to five years of imprisonment.

 

Article 503

Anyone who enters [political or military or security] places with the intent to steal or draw maps or gather information about political or military or security secrets, and also those who are arrested while drawing maps or filming or taking pictures from military bastions or prohibited places, shall be sentenced to six months to three years of imprisonment.

 

Article 504

Anyone who effectively encourages combatants or those in military forces to rebel, escape, surrender, or disobey military orders, with the intention to overthrow the government or to defeat national forces against the enemy, shall be considered as Mohareb; otherwise [if he does not possess the intention] if his acts are effective, he shall be sentenced to two to ten years, and if not, to six months to three years of imprisonment.

 

Article 505

Anyone who, with the intention to disrupt national security, gathers information through any means under the cover of State authorities or government officials, if they intend to provide them to others shall be sentenced to two to ten years of imprisonment [if successful], and otherwise to one to five years of imprisonment [if unsuccessful].

 

Article 506

If due to their negligence and disregarding security protocols, government officials who are responsible for classified security and intelligence affairs and have received the required training reveal information to enemies (unintentionally), they shall be sentenced to one to six months imprisonment.

 

Article 507

Anyone who is a member of corrupt groups or among those who act against national security, provided that he is not in a leading position and before being prosecuted, reports the plot and names of those engaged in the conspiracy and corruption to the officials, or cooperates effectively with the officials after he is prosecuted, shall be exempted from punishment; and if he has personally committed another crime, he shall be only sentenced for that crime.

 

Article 508

Anyone who cooperates by any means with foreign States against the Islamic Republic of Iran, if not considered as Mohareb, shall be sentenced to one to ten years of imprisonment.

 

Article 509

Anyone who during wartime commits one of the crimes against national and foreign security of the State mentioned in this chapter, shall be sentenced to the highest punishment prescribed for the same crime.

 

Article 510

Anyone who, with the intent to disrupt national security or aid the enemy, recognizes and hides, or assists in hiding, spies who have a mission to gather information or cause damage to the country, shall be sentenced to six months to three years of imprisonment.

Note- Anyone who, without spying or hiding spies, identifies and attracts some people by any means and introduces them to enemy States or foreign countries for espionage purposes against the national security [of the Islamic Republic of Iran] shall be sentenced to six months to two years of imprisonment.

 

Article 511

Anyone who, with the intent to disrupt national security and disturb public opinion, threatens to plant bombs in an airplane, ship, and/or other public means of transportation, or claims that the aforementioned means of transportation have been rigged with a bomb(s), in addition to compensation for damages caused to the government and people, shall be sentenced to six months to two years of imprisonment.

 

Article 512

Anyone who, with the intent to disrupt national security, induces or encourages people to war with one another and slaughter each other, regardless of whether or not [such actions] cause murder and ravage, shall be sentenced to one to five years of imprisonment. Note- Where it can be proven that the accused repented [for their actions] before being caught by the State, articles (508) and (509), and (512) are not applicable.

 

The legal concept of the crimes of Moharebeh and Baqy under Iranian law

In Islamic law, there are some crimes whose definitions and punishments have been established. Islamic jurisprudence refers to these kinds of crimes as “Hodood,” and the government of an Islamic society is not permitted to change or modify these rules.

Two criminal titles fall into this category i.e. Moharebeh and Baqy, that are directly related to Islamic society’s security realm. A number of violent and intensified punishments are imposed for these crimes.

Listed below are the relevant articles of Iran’s penal code pertaining to these crimes:

279- Moharebeh is defined as drawing a weapon on the life, property, or chastity of people or causing terror as it creates an atmosphere of insecurity. When a person draws a weapon on one or several specific persons because of personal enmities and his act is not against the public, and also a person who draws a weapon on people, but due to inability does not cause insecurity, shall not be considered as a Mohareb [i.e., a person who commits Moharebeh]

286- Any person, who extensively commits a physical felony against people, offenses against internal or international security of the state, spreads lies, disruption of the economic system of the state, arson and destruction of properties, destruction of poisonous and bacterial and dangerous materials, and establishment of, or aiding and abetting in, places of corruption and prostitution. [on a scale] that causes severe disruption in the public order of the state and insecurity, or causes harsh damage to the bodily entity of people or public or private properties, or causes the distribution of corruption and prostitution on a large scale, shall be considered as Mofsed-e-fel-arz [corrupt on earth] and shall be sentenced to death.

 

Comparative advantages of political crimes and ordinary crimes under Iranian law

Principle 168 of Iran’s Constitution Law (Click to read more Iran’s Constitution Law) provides a series of privileges for political offenders. Article 6 of the Bill lists other advantages for defendants and convicts of political crimes. Political and press crimes shall be prosecuted in open court and in the presence of a jury.

In the course of the proceedings and following the issuance of the final decision of conviction, an offender of political crimes shall benefit from the following advantages:

1. The place of detention of political offenders shall be separated from ordinary criminals.
2. Political offenders are not obliged to wear prison uniforms during detention and imprisonment.
3. Political criminals are not subject to the aggravated provisions regarding the repetition of a crime.
4. 4. Political criminals shall not be kept in solitary confinement unless there are two conditions:
5. In cases with the risk of collusion between the offender and others;
6. Solitary confinement seems necessary for the process of completion of the initial investigation.

Even in the case of the above exemptions, the duration of solitary confinement shall not exceed 15 days.

5. 5. Political criminals have the right to meet and correspond with their first-degree relatives during their imprisonment.
6. 6. Political criminals have the right to access books, publications, radio, and television during their imprisonment.

Considering these privileges, the legislator intends to determine the difference between political criminals and other ordinary ones. Since political criminals do not pose a significant threat to society and are only seeking to reform political affairs, they are treated differently from other criminals.

 

Competent authority

Which authority is competent to determine whether the crime falls under the scope of political crime?

Concerning the above question, the legislator has issued Article 5 of the Political Crime Bill, which states that determining whether a case is political or not is within the discretion of the prosecutor’s office or the court where the case is heard. The accusation can be modified to a political accusation at any level of the trial upon the end of the first court hearing session. Anyway, the Code of Criminal Procedure is the governing law in this situation.

 

 

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