Differential Criminal Policy of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Crime of Computer Espionage

Some of the criminal examples in the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to the thought approach that governs the policy-making procedure an leads it in the direction of differentiating the crimes, have been brought to the attention of the legislators in such a way that, while emphasizing the maintenance of public order, it also affects maintenance of the order of military units. In other words, in some cases, if there is no emphasis on dealing with it, military crimes can cause disturbances in public order, which include traditional espionage and computer espionage. The research methodology in this study is descriptive-analytical through library and survey studies. In the criminal system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in addition to the Law on Punishment of Armed Forces Crimes approved in 2003, the Law on Computer Crimes approved in 2009 also covers the commission of computer espionage by military personnel. The findings of the present research indicate that in the Criminal Law of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the perpetrator of the crime of traditional espionage and computer espionage can be a military person or a civilian. The criminal policy governing the crime of espionage in the Criminal Law of the Armed Forces approved in 2012 is a strict criminal policy.