Iranian and Egyptian Criminal Policy in Combating Bioterrorism

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Student in Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Iran, Qom

2 Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Iran, Qom

3 Assistant Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran

10.22091/dclic.2025.14214.1122

Abstract

Bioterrorism, as an organized crime that endangers public health with the aim of disrupting national security, requires an efficient criminal policy centered on deterrent penalization and criminological support for victims. This study, using a descriptive-analytical method and a comparative approach, examines the penal functions (criminalization, prosecution, punishment and enforcement) and mechanisms for supporting victims of bioterrorism in the legal systems of Iran and Egypt. Data are extracted from criminal laws, biodefense regulations, policy documents and national victimology reports. Findings show that Iran has designed a multi-layered, penal-oriented criminal policy, utilizing the criminal title of “corruption on earth” (Article 286 of the Islamic Penal Code) for major threats and Article 688 (threat against public health) for limited cases, along with executive layers of passive defense and biosafety; victim support is also provided through blood money, a bodily injury fund and rehabilitation services of the Ministry of Health. In contrast, Egypt, by including biological agents under the heading of “unconventional weapons” in the Counter-Terrorism Act (Article 1 of the Act 94/2015), imposes severe penalties of life imprisonment and death penalty even at the preparatory stage and has centralized and quickly provided support to victims through the “Support Fund for Families of Martyrs and the Injured of Terrorism”. A comparative comparison indicates that the effectiveness of criminal policy depends on the penal-support link: strengthening the “scope and breadth” index in Iran’s severe criminal titles, improving the sanctions of Article 688, standardizing forensic-medical laboratories, specialized training of judges in biological victimology and Egypt’s modeling of Iran’s joint protocols for interdepartmental coordination can make the cycle of “penalization, legal proof, compensation” more efficient. Finally, it is suggested that the two countries provide a local model by codifying a joint regional protocol on "Punishment and Protection of Victims of Bioterrorism" under the Biological Weapons Convention.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Pourdasthgrendan, Reza (2016). Encyclopedia of Bioterrorism and Bioterrorism Factors. Tehran: One Book Virtual Library Publications.
Peyvandi, Gholamreza (2022). Punishment Policy-making: Foundations, Principles, Criteria and Challenges. Tehran: Jurisprudence and Principles Publications, Rule of Law.
Hatami, Hossein (2009). “A Review of Bioterrorism and Biological Defense”. International Police Studies Quarterly, 2 (1).
Daraya, Mohammad (2015). Bioterrorism in the West. Tehran: Arman Roshd Publishing.
Salarifar, Abuzar, Mirkhalili, Sayyed Mahmoud and Mousavi-Mojab Sayyed Durrid (2018). “Analysis of the Quranic Basis of Criminalizing Environmental Crimes”. Quranic Studies, 9 (36).
Shishechiha, Mustafa (2013). “The Biological Weapons Convention and Dual-Use Research in the Field of Life”. Monthly Journal of Events and Analyses, 7 (272).
Farghali, Maysa (2023). “Biosafety risk assessment programs in the face of bioterrorism”. Egyptian Journal of Social Service, 1 (1).
Foroughi, Fazlollah, Sadeghi, Mohammad-Hadi and Zarei-Kardsholi, Siamak (2023). “Requirements of Legislative-Criminal Description in the Field of Agricultural Bioterrorism”. Quarterly Journal of Legal Studies, 14 (3).
Fasihi, Fatemeh (2023). “A Comparative Study of Countermeasures against Bioterrorism with Emphasis on the Consequences of the Corona Disease”. Proceedings of the Eighth International and National Conference on Management, Accounting and Law.
Adel Ali, Al-Sayed Muhammad (2019). “Protecting the Environment in the Event of the Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Comparative Study between Islamic Jurisprudence and Public International Law.” Journal of Jurisprudential and Legal Research.
Abdullah Yar, Saeed et. al. (2025). “The Protective Scope of Iranian and Egyptian Criminal Regulations in Cases of Necessity”. Criminal Law Doctrines of Islamic Countries, 2 (2).
Abdel Hamid, Marwa Ramadan (2024). “International Protection of the Environment from Biological Pollution”. Journal of the Faculty of Law, Damietta University.
Kazemi, Abbas and Eskandarian Hassan (2013). “Legislative Requirements of States in the Cartagena Protocol and the Level of Compliance of Iran.” Public Law Research Quarterly, 16 (44).
Goodarzi, Zahra (2023). “Bioterrorism and its Impact on the Security of Citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran”. Master’s Thesis, Ayatollah Boroujerdi University (RA), Faculty of Humanities.
Majudi, Majid, Alizadeh, Gholamreza and Ebrahimian, Mehdi (2019). “Bioterrorism and Biological Weapons from the Past to the Present: A Classical Review”. Quarterly Journal of War Studies, 1 (3).
Motlaghi, Afshin, Kaviani-Rad, Morad and Najafi, Sajjad (2015). “The Relationship Between Environmental Security and National Security: A Case Study of Bioterrorism”. Majles and Strategy Quarterly, 7 (83).
Mousavi, Sayyed Ali-Akbar, Gholamhossein, Masoud and Raei, Masoud (2021). “An Analytical Approach to Bioterrorism in International Documents and Domestic Laws”. Bi-Quarterly Journal of Comparative Law, 8 (1).
Moussa, Abdol-Salam Ahmed (2025). “The Impact of the Evolution of Biological Terrorism on National Security”. Strategic Studies, Part One, Year Three, Issue Six.
Nazim, Ali (2022). “Criminological Analysis of the Phenomenon of Bioterrorism”. Master’s Thesis, Shahid Ashrafi Isfahani University, Faculty of Law and Theology.
Wajdi Abdel-Fattah, Mohamed Ahmed (2023). “Ethics of Synthetic Biology in Light of Artificial Cell Applications…”. Journal of the Faculty of Arts-Menoufia University.
Hashemi, Ramin (2019). “Iranian Penal Policy towards Bioterrorism”. Dissertation Arshad, University of Science and Culture, Tehran.
Yadk, Mohammed (2022). “Civil Responsibility for the Damage of Biological Terrorism: A Comparative Study”. Journal of Jurisprudence and Legal Research, 34, (37).
Criminal Law Doctrines of Islamic Countries
Volume 3, Issue 2 - Serial Number 10
Summer 2026
June 2026
Pages 155-184

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics