The Plausibility of defining Brainwashing Defense with an attitude ‎towards Common Law

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Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Department of Law, Faculty of Humanities, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

Abstract

Brainwashing, a term that was first applied to describe the bizarre change in the attitude of PoWs, quickly gained popularity in science fiction stories. However, some real cases have proven that such eccentric changes in character are indeed possible. Findings in neurology and psychology, experiments like Milgram and the Stanford Prison Experiment, along with the idea of the Authoritarian Personality, the destructive schema of obedience, and finally the inclusion of the brainwashing concept in the DSM under the title of Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (OSDD), have scientifically demonstrated this phenomenon. Accordingly, jurists have proposed independent new defenses under titles such as Brainwashing, Rotten Social Background, and Coercive Indoctrination. Even though the brainwashing defense proposed by Delgado received much criticism from Dressler, the Model Penal Code eventually accepted coercive persuasion under the title of situational duress. Although there is no formal brainwashing defense in the Iranian legal system, it is closely related to the general defenses of stronger causality, duress, insanity, and superior orders. As a specific defense, it has been addressed in Article 596 and the repeated Article 500 of the Ta’zirat section of the Islamic Penal Code. However, neither the general nor the specific provisions were intended to define brainwashing, and invoking them to excuse someone who has been brainwashed from criminal responsibility would be problematic.

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References

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Comparative Law Review

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 22 June 2025

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