نقد سیاست جنایی تقنینی ایران در جرایم مهاجرت اتباع افغانستان

In criminological scholarship, the theory of criminal ecology analyzes the interrelations among migration, settlement, and patterns of offending and victimization. The legislative dimension of criminal policy in the legal system of each state, inspired by the teachings of ecological criminology, bears responsibility for criminalization and penal regulation in matters such as offenses related to the migration of foreigners into the country and the criminogenic instabilities arising from migrant life within the territory of the host or transit state. The cultural and economic deprivation of many Afghan nationals convicted of the offense of unlawful entry into Iran—particularly since 2021, when the influx of migrants across the eastern borders intensified due to the unjustified leniency of relevant domestic policymakers—has generated a wide range of social crises. These include a rising rate of offending as well as the heightened victimization of Afghans who have entered Iran either with the aim of settling or in transit toward Turkey and Europe. This challenge underscores the pressing necessity for Iranian criminal law to employ, with determination, the instruments of criminalization and punishment in an effective manner.
This qualitative article, through the method of legal discourse analysis, critiques Iran’s criminal policy on account of its obsolescence and deficiencies in the scope of criminalization as well as in the types and severity of punishments prescribed. The findings reveal that certain outdated and ineffective Iranian laws exert a counterproductive impact on Afghan migrants—encouraging rather than deterring unlawful conduct—thus constituting a significant legal weakness that contributes to the marginalization crises they face in Iranian urban areas. The article concludes by proposing reforms to the draft Law on Combating Human Trafficking, Migrants, and Organ Trade, and the Punishment of Unlawful Border Crossings (2024),