Iran: Military Prosecutor's Office (MPO): the name of the court handling the MPO cases; whether the judge would be from the military; the jurisdiction of the court hearing military prosecution; whether the court hearing MPO cases is also involved in narcotics and espionage cases; official name of the court which prosecutes narcotics offences; jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Courts
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 November 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IRN30666.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Iran: Military Prosecutor's Office (MPO): the name of the court handling the MPO cases; whether the judge would be from the military; the jurisdiction of the court hearing military prosecution; whether the court hearing MPO cases is also involved in narcotics and espionage cases; official name of the court which prosecutes narcotics offences; jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Courts, 1 November 1998, IRN30666.E, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab5c54.html [accessed 5 January 2016] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Two oral sources were able to provide information on these questions. These sources are: 1) a professor of Political Sciences at the Royal Military College in Kingston specializing on Iran (20 Nov. 1998); 2) a specialist on Iranian military and security issues in Iran who is a contributor to Jane's Intelligence Review, who has published extensively on Iran (18 Nov. 1998).
The name of the court handling the Military Prosecutor's Office (MPO) cases is called a Military Court. Civilians, clerics and military persons can sit on this tribunal. The Military Court, which handles internal military matters, has the power to render a sentence and enforce it. There is a juxtaposition of jurisdictions between Civil Courts, Revolutionary Courts and Military Courts regarding narcotics and espionage. The general rule is that if the accused is from the military, a Military Court would hear the case, while a civilian would appear before a Civilian Court. Revolutionary Courts can also hear cases involving narcotics or espionage as national security issues. Espionage and narcotics trafficking are both considered threats to national security. Usually, the court handling narcotics is called "Dadghah-e Mavade Mokhader". Drug trafficking is handled by the army and the Pasdaran on the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, which then refer the case to the Ministry of Interior.
According to the professor of Political Sciences at the Royal Military College in Kingston, today the Military Court offers an appeal process for the defendants. The defendants can appeal directly to the Military Court or present their cases to the Supreme Court.
For information on Revolutionary Islamic Courts, please consult the attached The Justice System of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a report from the Lawyers Committee For Human Rights (May 1993, 30-36). For information on the judicial system in Iran, including the Revolutionary Islamic Courts, please consult the attached Internet document entitled The Judicial System.
For a detailed account of the internal regulations of the military and their Penal Laws, please consult Iran: Complete Regulations of IRI Armed Forces as reproduced in FBIS-NES-94-208-S of 27 October 1994. The document, available at your Regional Documentation Centre, provides information on "Penal Laws" (pp.1-2), "Crimes Against Internal and External Security" (pp.2-3), "Offences in Violation of Military Duties" (pp. 3-5), and "Desertion" (pp. 5-6). The section entitled "Crimes Against Internal and External Security" defines the actions considered to be espionage in the military, while the section called "Law on Restoring of Competence of Justice Department Judicial Authorities" (pp. 10-11) provides information on the military court.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Specialist on Iran security forces, Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario. 20 November 1998. Telephone interview.
Specialist on security issues in Iran and Iran military, England. 18 November 1998. Telephone interview.
Attachments
The Justice System of the Islamic Republic of Iran. May 1993. New York: Lawyers Committe For Human Rights, p.30-36.
Iran Yearbook. 1997. The Judicial System. Nd. Website. [Internet] < http://www.ipis.org/iran/judicial.html > [Accessed 16 Nov. 1998]
Additional Sources Consulted
Former Director, Centre For Iranian Research and Analysis, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware.
Researcher, Centre For Iranian Studies, Columbia University, New York.
