Criminal Liability for Human Trafficking Crimes A Comparative Study with Islamic Jurisprudence

Abstract

The crime of human trafficking in its various forms and manifestations has become a fertile and rich subject, as it fundamentally violates human rights, dignity and freedom, foremost of which is the right to be free from all forms of abuse and exploitation.

It is described as a crime committed against human beings, because the object and subject of this crime is the human being himself. It is not limited to a specific gender or age, but rather includes children, women and men and extends to all human groups and includes all age groups.

It is a crime that affects the lives of individuals and societies in general and leads to the social, economic and cultural collapse of different peoples. What added to its complexity was the development of its images and means of committing it from time to time, especially since there are thousands of men, women and children whose social conditions or as a result of natural disasters, wars, economic crises and difficult living conditions pushed them to be easy prey to fall into human trafficking by criminal gangs; mostly supervising its organization and monitoring the implementation of its various operations. Such a crime is typically carried out by either deploying individuals or organized groups to recruit victims, transferring them, receiving them, handing them over, receiving them, and sheltering them, legally or illegally, whether within the borders of the state itself or across its national borders to another state, with the aim of exploiting the victims in forced labor and compulsory service, prostitution and all other forms of sexual exploitation, or the removal and trafficking of human organs, among others; a form of exploitation for the purpose of gaining financial and/or moral benefits.

Equally, the crime of human trafficking may involve exploiting and manipulating a victim voluntarily by using means of deception and deceit, or forcibly through coercion, by using or threatening force, or by kidnapping and other means. This calls for (1) identifying the individual(s) responsible for such crimes, especially since there are many perpetrators and contributors involved within the region or outside, and (2) holding individuals involved in committing any forms of this crime accountable, whether they are the prime perpetrators or just contributors, and whether they are individuals or organizations. Therefore, as researchers, we had to address this crime in its various and advanced forms and means, in order to contribute to finding appropriate solutions and treatments to address these crimes and limit their spread and expansion.