Federal Law by Decree No. 31 of 2021 promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law.

The Crimes and Penalties Law, comprising 479 articles, establishes a comprehensive legal framework that balances modern regulatory needs with the foundational principles of Islamic Sharia. The code strictly upholds essential constitutional guarantees, asserting that criminal liability is personal, individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse. Structurally, it classifies offenses into three distinct tiers—felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions—based on the severity of their prescribed punishments, which range from financial fines and community service to temporary imprisonment, life sentences, and the death penalty. The substantive sections of the penal code comprehensively cover crimes against the state, public administration, and individual welfare. It mandates severe penalties, including life imprisonment and death, for actions threatening internal or external state security, such as terrorism, espionage, attempting to overthrow the government, and insulting state icons or national symbols. Additionally, the text heavily regulates public order and economic stability, detailing strict punishments for currency counterfeiting, rioting, spreading false rumors, and exploiting public funds. Finally, the code outlines various legal justifications, such as legitimate self-defense, while defining mitigating factors like youth or provocation, and aggravating circumstances like recidivism or the abuse of public office, all designed to guide judicial sentencing.
The Law contains provisions aimed at protecting the environment, animals, public health, and essential natural resources from pollution, destruction, and other forms of ecological harm. These provisions address, among other matters, damage to natural resources, agricultural assets, and water supplies. In particular, Article 246 prohibits the unauthorized transport or attempted transport of weapons, ammunition, military equipment, or hazardous substances by means of any vessel, vehicle, postal item, or parcel, and mandates the confiscation of the prohibited materials and the means of transport used in the offence. Article 340 criminalizes acts of sabotage, destruction, or intentional damage to critical public infrastructure, including transportation systems, ports, vaults, and navigable waterways, and expressly covers offences committed through the use of explosives or other destructive devices. To safeguard public health and water resources, Article 350 prohibits the contamination of wells, reservoirs, and public water storage facilities intended for public use when such contamination renders the water unfit for consumption or other uses. Complementing this provision, Article 351 criminalizes the intentional destruction, damage, or impairment of machinery, pipelines, installations, and equipment used in the provision of water, electricity, gas, petroleum, and other public utility services, where such acts result in the disruption of those services. The Law also includes provisions protecting animals and agricultural resources by penalizing the unlawful killing, injury, mistreatment, or neglect of domesticated and working animals, as well as conduct that causes damage to livestock and other productive resources. Furthermore, Article 465 protects agricultural resources by prohibiting the destruction of trees and grafts, including acts such as cutting, uprooting, or stripping bark in a manner that causes the death of a tree. It also prohibits the destruction of crops, plants, and cultivated fields, as well as the introduction of harmful substances or invasive plants that may damage agricultural production. In addition, the Law safeguards agricultural infrastructure by prohibiting the damage, destruction, or disabling of agricultural machinery and equipment.
To protect animal welfare and public health, the Code establishes several offences relating to the mistreatment of animals. Article 466 penalizes any person who, deliberately and without justification, kills or seriously injures a riding or draught animal, a beast of burden, or cattle, destroys or poisons fish in a water source or basin, or abandons a stray animal in circumstances that endanger public safety. Article 471 criminalizes the deliberate and unjustified killing or poisoning of any domesticated or tamed animal not covered by Article 466. Article 472 further prohibits the harassment, torture, or ill-treatment of domesticated or tamed animals and penalizes any person who neglects to care for an animal entrusted to them or for which they are legally responsible. Finally, Article 473 imposes penalties on anyone who, through negligence, causes injury to an animal or livestock belonging to another person, with more severe consequences where such conduct results in the animal’s death. Public health is further safeguarded by Article 349, which imposes a penalty of life imprisonment on any person who intentionally endangers the life or safety of others through the use of substances, pathogens, or other agents capable of causing death or serious harm to public health.