Political Crime and Its Comparative Study with Islamic Criminal Law

Abstract

Political crime is one of the concepts that can have different definitions depending on the legal system and social traditions of each country. From one perspective, political crime may not have a clear definition at all, while from another perspective, it can have specific definitions determined by the legislator. In some cases, political crime may be considered by the government as a crime against national security, and the offender may be recognized as a security criminal. For example, the crime of baghy in Islamic law in Iran is classified as a security crime. However, given the nature of this crime, it can also be regarded as a political crime within the framework of Islam. In light of this, the present study, using an analytical-descriptive method and through a library-based approach, conducts a comparative study of political crime in Iranian criminal law and Islamic criminal law. The findings of this research indicate that Islamic jurisprudence, which is the basis for lawmaking in Iran, recognizes the crime of baghy as a political crime, and special attention has been given to this type of crime in Islamic law. This may explain why, in the legal system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, no independent laws for political crime have been developed separately from the laws related to hudud, qisas, and diyat. Therefore, the legislator considers Articles 287 and 288 of the Islamic Penal Code as hudud crimes, and according to Clause 1 of Article 3 of the Political Crime Law, crimes subject to hudud, qisas, and diyat are not considered political crimes.