Editing Treason

{{Short description|Crime of betraying one's country}}
{{Other uses|Treason (disambiguation)|High Treason (disambiguation)|Traitor (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Traitor|the act itself|Betrayal}}
[[File:Guy-Fawkes.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A 17th-century illustration of the leaders of the [[Gunpowder Plot]], a failed assassination attempt against [[James VI and I|James I of England]].]]{{Criminal law}}
'''Treason''' is the crime of attacking a [[state (polity)|state]] [[authority]] to which one owes allegiance.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lear|first=Floyd Seyward|year=2013|title=Treason in Roman and Germanic Law|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=9780292759107}}</ref> This typically includes acts such as participating in a [[war]] against one's native country, attempting to [[Coup d'état|overthrow its government]], [[spy]]ing on its military, its diplomats, its officials, or its secret services for a hostile foreign power, or [[Regicide|attempting to kill]] its [[head of state]]. A person who commits treason is known in law as a '''traitor'''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/traitor|title=Definition of TRAITOR|publisher=Merriam-Webster|date=4 May 2023}}</ref>

Historically, in [[common law]] countries, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife or that of a master by his servant. Treason (i.e., disloyalty) against one's monarch was known as ''high treason'' and treason against a lesser superior was ''[[petty treason]]''. As jurisdictions around the world abolished petty treason, "treason" came to refer to what was historically known as high treason.

At times, the term ''traitor'' has been used as a political [[epithet]], regardless of any verifiable treasonable action. In a [[civil war]] or [[insurrection]], the winners may deem the losers to be traitors. Likewise the term ''traitor'' is used in heated political discussion{{Spaced en dash}}typically as a slur against political dissidents, or against officials in power who are perceived as failing to act in the best interest of their constituents. In certain cases, as with the {{lang|de|[[Dolchstoßlegende]]}} (stab-in-the-back myth), the accusation of treason towards a large group of people can be a unifying political message.

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==History==
[[File:Belsky Vaclav Cartoon.png|thumb|[[Cartoon]] depicting [[Václav Bělský]] (1818–1878), [[Mayor of Prague]] from 1863 until 1867, in charge of the city during [[Austro-Prussian War|Prussian occupation in July 1866]]. Some forces wanted to try him for high treason (left: "What some men wished" – "Dr. Bělský for high treason"), but he got a full confidence from the Council of Prague (right: "but what they did not expect" – "address of confidence from the city of Prague").]]

[[Frederic William Maitland]] explained that "Treason is a crime which has a vague circumference and more than one centre".{{sfn|Bellamy|2004|p=1}}

The [[Treason Act 1351]], called "the pole star of English jurisprudence" by [[Joseph Story]], was the first time treason was defined by statute. During the 12th century the rights of the king were gradually set apart from the other nobles. Beginning with the reign of [[Edward I]] the Crown asserted its authority to recognize rebellions ("levying war") as treasonous.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A History of Treason: The bloody history of Britain through the stories of its most notorious traitors|author=The National Archives|publisher=John Blake Publishing|isbn=978-1-78946-628-7|date=2022}}</ref>

By the Elizabethan age courts had shed the restrictions of statutory treason in favor of [[constructive treason]] applied as a form of political control. [[Edward Coke]] decides in ''R v Owen'' that mere speech about the monarch could be treason if it "disabled his title" in departure from his earlier statement "it is commonly said that bare words may make a heretick, but not a traytor without an overt act".{{sfn|Hostettler|2009|p=80–1}}

In [[English law]], high treason was punishable by being [[hanged, drawn and quartered]] (men) or [[execution by burning|burnt at the stake]] (women), although [[Decapitation|beheading]] could be substituted by royal command (usually for royalty and nobility). Those penalties were abolished in 1814, 1790 and 1973 respectively. The penalty was used by later monarchs against people who could reasonably be called traitors. Many of them would now just be considered [[dissident]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-_0mDwAAQBAJ&q=religious+dissidents+tried+for+treason+england&pg=PT61|title=The Pragmatist Turn: Religion, the Englightenment, and the Formation of American Literature|last=Gunn|first=Giles|publisher=University of Virginia Press|year=2017|isbn=9780813940823|chapter=Puritan Ascendance and Decline}}</ref>

The words "treason" and "traitor" are derived from the [[Latin]] ''tradere'', "to deliver or hand over".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online as of April 2, 2019; entries "treason" and "traitor".</ref> Specifically, it is derived from the term "[[traditors]]", which refers to [[bishops]] and other Christians who turned over [[Holy Bible|sacred scriptures]] or betrayed their fellow Christians to the [[Roman army|Roman authorities]] under threat of [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|persecution]] during the [[Diocletianic Persecution]] between AD 303 and 305.

Originally, the crime of treason was conceived of as being committed against the [[monarch]]; a subject failing in his duty of loyalty to the sovereign and acting against the sovereign was deemed to be a traitor. Queens [[Anne Boleyn]] and [[Catherine Howard]] were executed for treason for [[adultery]] against [[Henry VIII]], although most historians regard the evidence against Anne Boleyn and her alleged lovers to be dubious. As asserted in the 18th century trial of [[Johann Friedrich Struensee]] in [[Denmark]], a man having sexual relations with a queen can be considered guilty not only of ordinary adultery but also of treason against her husband, the king.

The [[Glorious Revolution|English Revolution]] in the 17th century and the [[French Revolution]] in the 18th century introduced a radically different concept of loyalty and treason, under which sovereignty resides with "The Nation" or "The People" – to whom also the monarch has a duty of loyalty, and for failing which the monarch, too, could be accused of treason. [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] in England and [[Louis XVI]] in France were found guilty of such treason and duly executed. However, when [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] was restored to his throne, he considered the revolutionaries who sentenced his father to death as having been traitors in the more traditional sense.

In medieval times, most treason cases were in the context of a kingdom's internal politics. Though helping a foreign monarch against one's own sovereign would also count as treason, such were only a minority among treason cases. Conversely, in modern times, "traitor" and "treason" are mainly used with reference to a person helping an enemy in time of war or conflict.

During the [[American Revolution]], a [[Slavery in the United States|slave]] named [[Billy (slave)|Billy]] was sentenced to [[Hanging|death]] on charges of treason to [[Virginia]] for having joined the British in their war against the American colonists – but was eventually pardoned by [[Thomas Jefferson]], then [[Governor of Virginia]]. Jefferson accepted the argument, put forward by Billy's well-wishers, that – not being a citizen and not enjoying any of the benefits of being one – Billy owed no loyalty to Virginia and therefore had committed no treason.<ref name=tj>{{cite book|last1=Jefferson|first1=Thomas|title=The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: 25 February 1781 to 20 May 1781|date=1952|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=641|isbn=9780691045825|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aZInAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Billy%22+slave+%22Prince+William+County%22|access-date=25 August 2015}}</ref> This was a ground-breaking case, since in earlier similar cases slaves were found guilty of treason and executed.

Under very different circumstances, a similar defense was put forward in the case of [[William Joyce]], nicknamed ''[[Lord Haw-Haw]]'', who had broadcast [[Nazi propaganda]] to the UK from Germany during the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=THE OCCUPATION: Renegade's Return|date=11 June 1945|magazine=Time|volume=XLV|issue=24|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,775821,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221231938/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,775821,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 21, 2011}}</ref> Joyce's defence team, appointed by the court, argued that, as an American citizen and naturalised German, Joyce could not be convicted of treason against the [[British Crown]]. However, the [[prosecution]] successfully argued that, since he had incorrectly stated his nationality to obtain a British passport and vote in Britain, Joyce did owe allegiance to the king. Thus, Joyce was convicted of treason, and was eventually [[hanging|hanged]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressandguide.com/opinion/world-war-ii-german-propaganda-radio-broadcaster-lord-haw-haw-was-born-in-us/article_e522e9b0-c6b9-11ea-b9a1-d320a00a6b8e.html|title=World War II German propaganda radio broadcaster 'Lord Haw Haw' was born in US|date=15 July 2020}}</ref>

After [[Napoleon]] fell from power for the first time, Marshal [[Michel Ney]] swore allegiance to the restored King [[Louis XVIII]], but when the Emperor escaped from Elba, Ney resumed his Napoleonic allegiance, and commanded the French troops at the [[Battle of Waterloo]]. After Napoleon was defeated, dethroned, and exiled for the second time in the summer of 1815, Ney was arrested and tried for treason by the [[Chamber of Peers (France)|Chamber of Peers]]. In order to save Ney's life, his lawyer [[André Marie Jean Jacques Dupin|André Dupin]] argued that as Ney's hometown of [[Sarrelouis]] had been annexed by Prussia according to the [[Treaty of Paris (1815)|Treaty of Paris of 1815]], Ney was now a [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]n, no longer owing allegiance to the King of France and therefore not liable for treason in a French court. Ney ruined his lawyer's effort by interrupting him and stating: ''"Je suis Français et je resterai Français!"'' (I am French and I will remain French!).<ref>"Je suis Français et je resterai Français!" {{harvnb|Bellemare|Nahmias|2009|p= ~149}}</ref> Having refused that defence, Ney was duly found guilty of treason and executed.

Until the late 19th century, Britain – like various other countries – held to a doctrine of "perpetual allegiance to the sovereign", dating back to feudal times, under which British subjects, owing loyalty to the British monarch, remained such even if they emigrated to another country and took its citizenship. This became a hotly debated issue in the aftermath of the 1867 [[Fenian Rising]], when [[Irish-Americans]] who had gone to [[Ireland]] to participate in the uprising and were caught were charged with treason, as the British authorities considered them to be British subjects. This outraged many Irish-Americans, to which the British responded by pointing out that, just like British law, American law also recognized perpetual allegiance.<ref name=virginia>[http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/alumni/uvalawyer/sp05/martin_lecture.htm Dual Nationality: TR's "Self-Evident Absurdity"], virginia.edu; accessed September 7, 2015. Archived from original https://web.archive.org/web/20060902083405/https://www.law.virginia.edu/html/alumni/uvalawyer/sp05/martin_lecture.htm</ref> As a result, Congress passed the [[Expatriation Act of 1868]], which granted Americans the right to freely renounce their U.S. citizenship. Britain followed suit with a similar law, and years later, signed a treaty agreeing to treat British subjects who had become U.S. citizens as no longer holding British nationality – and thus no longer liable to a charge of treason.

Many nations' laws mention various types of treason. "Crimes Related to Insurrection" is the internal treason, and may include a [[coup d'état]]. "Crimes Related to Foreign Aggression" is the treason of cooperating with foreign aggression positively regardless of the national inside and outside. "Crimes Related to Inducement of Foreign Aggression" is the crime of communicating with [[alien (law)|aliens]] secretly to cause foreign aggression or menace. Depending on the country, [[Conspiracy (criminal)|conspiracy]] is added to these.

==In individual jurisdictions==
===Australia===
In Australia, there are federal and state laws against treason, specifically in the states of [[New South Wales]], [[South Australia]] and Victoria. Similarly to [[Treason laws in the United States]], citizens of Australia owe allegiance to their [[Monarchy of Australia|sovereign]] at the federal and state level.

The federal law defining treason in Australia is provided under section 80.1 of the Criminal Code, contained in the schedule of the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995.<ref>{{cite web|title=Criminal Code Act 1995 – Schedule The Criminal Code|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/cca1995115/sch1.html|work=Commonwealth Consolidated Acts|publisher=Australasian Legal Information Institute|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> It defines treason as follows:

{{blockquote|A person commits an offence, called treason, if the person:
:(a) causes the death of the Sovereign, the heir apparent of the Sovereign, the consort of the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or
:(b) causes harm to the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister resulting in the death of the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or
:(c) causes harm to the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister, or imprisons or restrains the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or
:(d) levies war, or does any act preparatory to levying war, against the Commonwealth; or
:(e) engages in conduct that assists by any means whatever, with intent to assist, an enemy:
::(i) at war with the Commonwealth, whether or not the existence of a state of war has been declared; and
::(ii) specified by Proclamation made for the purpose of this paragraph to be an enemy at war with the Commonwealth; or
:(f) engages in conduct that assists by any means whatever, with intent to assist:
::(i) another country; or
::(ii) an organisation;
:that is engaged in armed hostilities against the Australian Defence Force; or
:(g) instigates a person who is not an Australian citizen to make an armed invasion of the Commonwealth or a Territory of the Commonwealth; or
:(h) forms an intention to do any act referred to in a preceding paragraph and manifests that intention by an [[overt act]].}}

A person is not guilty of treason under paragraphs (e), (f) or (h) if their assistance or intended assistance is purely humanitarian in nature.

The maximum penalty for treason is [[life imprisonment]]. Section 80.1AC of the Act creates the related offence of [[treachery (law)|treachery]].

====New South Wales====
The [[Treason Act 1351]], the [[Treason Act 1795]] and the [[Treason Act 1817]] form part of the law of [[New South Wales]]. The [[Treason Act 1795]] and the [[Treason Act 1817]] have been repealed by Section 11 of the [[Crimes Act 1900]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Crimes Act 1900 – Section 11|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s11.html|work=New South Wales Consolidated Acts|publisher=Australasian Legal Information Institute|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> except in so far as they relate to the compassing, imagining, inventing, devising, or intending death or destruction, or any bodily harm tending to death or destruction, maim, or wounding, imprisonment, or restraint of the person of the heirs and successors of King [[George III]] the United Kingdom, and the expressing, uttering, or declaring of such compassings, imaginations, inventions, devices, or intentions, or any of them.

Section 12 of the [[Crimes Act 1900]] (NSW) creates an offence which is derived from section 3 of the [[Treason Felony Act 1848]]:<ref>{{cite web|title=Crimes Act 1900 – Section 12|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s12.html|work=New South Wales Consolidated Acts|publisher=Australasian Legal Information Institute|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref>

{{blockquote|12 Compassing etc deposition of the Sovereign–overawing Parliament etc

Whosoever, within New South Wales or without, compasses, imagines, invents, devises, or intends to deprive or depose Our Most Gracious Lady the Queen, her heirs or successors, from the style, honour, or Royal name of the Imperial Crown of the United Kingdom, or of any other of Her Majesty's dominions and countries, or to levy war against Her Majesty, her heirs or successors, within any part of the United Kingdom, or any other of Her Majesty's dominions, in order, by force or constraint, to compel her or them to change her or their measures or counsels, or in order to put any force or constraint upon, or in order to intimidate or overawe, both Houses or either House of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, or the Parliament of New South Wales, or to move or stir any foreigner or stranger with force to invade the United Kingdom, or any other of Her Majesty's dominions, or countries under the obeisance of Her Majesty, her heirs or successors, and expresses, utters, or declares such compassings, imaginations, inventions, devices, or intentions, or any of them, by publishing any printing or writing, or by open and advised speaking, or by any overt act or deed, shall be liable to imprisonment for 25 years.}}

Section 16 provides that nothing in Part 2 repeals or affects anything enacted by the [[Treason Act 1351]] (25 Edw.3 c. 2).<ref>{{cite web|title=Crimes Act 1900 – Section 16|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s16.html|work=New South Wales Consolidated Acts|publisher=Australasian Legal Information Institute|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> This section reproduces section 6 of the [[Treason Felony Act 1848]].

====Victoria====
The offence of treason was created by section 9A(1) of the [[Crimes Act 1958]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Crimes Act 1958 – Section 9A|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/ca195882/s9a.html|work=Victorian Consolidated Acts|publisher=Australasian Legal Information Institute|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> It is punishable by a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

====South Australia====
In South Australia, treason is defined under Section 7 of the South Australia Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 and punished under Section 10A. Any person convicted of treason against South Australia will receive a mandatory sentence of [[life imprisonment]].

===Brazil===
According to [[Brazilian law]], treason is the crime of disloyalty by a citizen to the [[Federal Republic of Brazil]], applying to combatants of the Brazilian military forces. Treason during wartime is the only crime for which a person can be sentenced to death ''(see [[capital punishment in Brazil]])''.

The only military person in the [[history of Brazil]] to be convicted of treason was [[Carlos Lamarca]], an army captain who deserted to become the leader of a communist-terrorist guerrilla against the [[Brazilian military dictatorship|military government]].

===Canada===
Section 46 of the [[Criminal Code (Canada)|Criminal Code]] has two degrees of treason, called "high treason" and "treason". However, both of these belong to the historical category of [[high treason]], as opposed to [[petty treason]] which does not exist in Canadian law. Section 46 reads as follows:<ref>{{cite web|title=Treason and other Offences against the King's Authority and Person|url=http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-7.html#h-13|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=27 September 2017}}</ref>

<blockquote>
High treason<br />
(1) Every one commits high treason who, in Canada,
:(a) kills or attempts to kill His Majesty, or does him any bodily harm tending to death or destruction, maims or wounds him, or imprisons or restrains him;
:(b) levies war against Canada or does any act preparatory thereto; or
:(c) assists an enemy at war with Canada, or any armed forces against whom Canadian Forces are engaged in hostilities, whether or not a state of war exists between Canada and the country whose forces they are.
Treason<br />
 (2) Every one commits treason who, in Canada,
:(a) uses force or violence for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Canada or a province;
:(b) without lawful authority, communicates or makes available to an agent of a state other than Canada, military or scientific information or any sketch, plan, model, article, note or document of a military or scientific character that he knows or ought to know may be used by that state for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or defence of Canada;
:(c) conspires with any person to commit high treason or to do anything mentioned in paragraph (a);
:(d) forms an intention to do anything that is high treason or that is mentioned in paragraph (a) and manifests that intention by an [[overt act]]; or
:(e) conspires with any person to do anything mentioned in paragraph (b) or forms an intention to do anything mentioned in paragraph (b) and manifests that intention by an overt act.
</blockquote>

It is also illegal for a Canadian citizen or a person who owes allegiance to His Majesty in right of Canada to do any of the above outside Canada.

The penalty for high treason is life imprisonment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forgetthebox.net/treason-a-crash-course-on-the-gravest-national-crime-201702281/|title=Treason: A Crash Course on the Gravest National Crime|last=Gold|first=Samantha|date=February 28, 2017|website=Forget the Box Media|access-date=January 28, 2019|quote=A conviction for high treason carries the penalty of life in prison.}}</ref> The penalty for treason is currently imprisonment up to a maximum of life, or up to 14 years for conduct under subsection (2)(b) or (e) in peacetime.  Historically however at least one Canadian, [[Louis Riel]], was executed after what was arguably [[North-West Rebellion|his second act of treason]] in 1885.

=== China ===
In China, there are different laws regarding treason in [[Mainland China]], [[Hong Kong]] or [[Macau]]. The law defining treason in mainland China is provided under article 102 of the Criminal Law as follows:<blockquote>Whoever colludes with a foreign State to endanger the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the People's Republic of China shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China|url=http://www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/englishnpc/Law/2007-12/13/content_1384075.htm|access-date=2024-10-03|website=[[National People's Congress]]}}</ref></blockquote>

==== Hong Kong ====
Section 10 of the [[Safeguarding National Security Ordinance]] provides that:<blockquote>A Chinese citizen who—

: (a) joins an external armed force that is at war with China, or is a part of the armed force;
: (b) with intent to prejudice the situation of China in a war, assists an enemy at war with China in a war,
: (c) levies war against China;
: (d) instigates a foreign country or an external armed force to invade China with force; or
: (e) with intent to endanger the sovereignty, unity or territorial integrity of China, uses force or threatens to use force,

commits an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to life imprisonment.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Instrument A305 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance|url=https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/capA305|access-date=2024-10-03|website=Hong Kong e-Legislation}}</ref></blockquote>where "enemy at war with China" is defined as a government of a foreign country or external armed force that is at war with China and "external armed force" means an armed force that does not belong to China.<ref name=":0" />

Section 11 of the same ordinance also provides that:<blockquote>A Chinese citizen who intends to commit an offence under section 10(1) and publicly manifests such intention commits an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for 14 years.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>

===Finland===
[[Law of Finland|Finnish law]] distinguishes between two types of treasonable offences: ''maanpetos'', treachery in war, and ''valtiopetos'', an attack against the constitutional order. The terms ''maanpetos'' and ''valtiopetos'' are unofficially translated as treason and high treason, respectively. Both are punishable by imprisonment, and if aggravated, by life imprisonment.

''Maanpetos'' (translates literally to ''betrayal of land'') consists in joining enemy armed forces, making war against [[Finland]], or serving or collaborating with the enemy. ''Maanpetos'' proper can only be committed under conditions of war or the threat of war. Espionage, disclosure of a national secret, and certain other related offences are separately defined under the same rubric in the Finnish criminal code.

''Valtiopetos'' (translates literally to ''betrayal of state'') consists in using violence or the threat of violence, or unconstitutional means, to bring about the overthrow of the Finnish constitution or to overthrow the president, cabinet or parliament or to prevent them from performing their functions.

===France===
[[File:Degradation alfred dreyfus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.05|5 January 1895: The treason conviction of Captain [[Alfred Dreyfus]].]]
Article 411-1<ref>{{cite legifrance|base=CP|number=411-11}}</ref> of the [[French criminal code]] defines treason as follows:
<blockquote>The acts defined by articles 411-2 to 411–11 constitute treason where they are committed by a French national or a soldier in the service of France, and constitute espionage where they are committed by any other person.</blockquote>

Article 411-2 prohibits "handing over troops belonging to the [[French Armed Forces|French armed forces]], or all or part of the national territory, to a foreign power, to a foreign organisation or to an organisation under foreign control, or to their agents". It is punishable by life imprisonment and a fine of [[Euro|€]]750,000. Generally parole is not available until 18 years of a life sentence have elapsed.<ref>{{cite legifrance|base=CP|number=411-2}}</ref>

Articles 411–3 to 411–10 define various other crimes of collaboration with the enemy, sabotage, and the like. These are punishable with imprisonment for between seven and 30 years. Article 411-11 make it a crime to incite any of the above crimes.

Besides treason and espionage, there are many other crimes dealing with national security, insurrection, terrorism and so on. These are all to be found in Book IV of the code.

===Germany===
German law differentiates between two types of treason: "High treason" (''Hochverrat'') and "treason" (''Landesverrat''). High treason, as defined in Section 81<ref>{{cite web|title=High Treason|url=http://www.iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/StGB.htm#BIii|work=Criminal Code|publisher=The Comparative Law Society|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> of the [[Law of Germany|German criminal code]] is defined as an attempt against the existence or the constitutional order of the [[Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]] that is carried out either with the use of violence or the threat of violence. It carries a penalty of life imprisonment or a fixed term of at least ten years. In less serious cases, the penalty is 1–10 years in prison. German criminal law also criminalises high treason against a [[States of Germany|German state]]. Preparation of either types of the crime is criminal and carries a penalty of up to five years.

The other type of treason, ''Landesverrat'' is defined in Section 94.<ref>{{cite web|title=Treason And Endangering External Security|url=http://www.iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/StGB.htm#BII|work=Criminal Code|publisher=The Comparative Law Society|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> It is roughly equivalent to espionage; more precisely, it consists of betraying a secret either directly to a foreign power, or to anyone not allowed to know of it; in the latter case, treason is only committed if the aim of the crime was explicitly to damage the Federal Republic or to favor a foreign power. The crime carries a penalty of one to fifteen years in prison. However, in especially severe cases, life imprisonment or any term of at least five years may be sentenced.

As for many crimes with substantial threats of punishment active repentance is to be considered in mitigation under §83a StGB (Section 83a, Criminal Code).

Notable cases involving ''Landesverrat'' are the [[Weltbühne trial]] during the [[Weimar Republic]] and the [[Spiegel scandal]] of 1962. On 30. July 2015, [[Public Prosecutor General (Germany)|Germany's Public Prosecutor General]] [[Harald Range]] initiated criminal investigation proceedings against the German blog [[netzpolitik.org]].

=== Ireland ===
{{Main|Treason in the Republic of Ireland}}
Article 39 of the [[Constitution of Ireland]] (adopted in 1937) states:

<blockquote>treason shall consist only in levying war against the State, or assisting any State or person or inciting or conspiring with any person to levy war against the State, or attempting by force of arms or other violent means to overthrow the organs of government established by the Constitution, or taking part or being concerned in or inciting or conspiring with any person to make or to take part or be concerned in any such attempt.<ref>{{cite web|title=Constitution of Ireland|url=http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/Historical_Information/About_the_Constitution,_Flag,_Anthem_Harp/Constitution_of_Ireland_Eng_Nov2004.htm|work=Department of the Taoiseach|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref></blockquote>

Following the enactment of the 1937 constitution, the [[Treason Act 1939]] provided for imposition of the death penalty for treason.<ref>{{cite web|title=Treason Act, 1939|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1939/en/act/pub/0010/index.html|work=[[Irish Statute Book]]|publisher=Government of Ireland|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> The Criminal Justice Act 1990 [[capital punishment in the Republic of Ireland#Abolition|abolished the death penalty]], setting the punishment for treason at life imprisonment, with parole in not less than forty years.<ref name="Government of Ireland">{{cite web|title=Criminal Justice Act, 1990|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1990/en/act/pub/0016/index.html|work=Irish Statute Book|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> No person has been charged under the Treason Act.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} [[Irish republican legitimism|Irish republican legitimatists]] who refuse to recognise the legitimacy of the [[Republic of Ireland]] have been charged with lesser crimes under the [[Offences against the State Acts 1939–1998]].

=== India ===
The [[Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita]] has described treason in [[Section 147 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita|Section 147]], which states that<blockquote>Whoever wages war against the Government of India, or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Legislative Department|first=Government of India|date=2023|title=Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita|url=https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/250883_english_01042024.pdf}}</ref></blockquote>

===Italy===
[[File:Popravení čeští a slovenští legionáři v Davanzo.gif|thumb|upright=1.1|The [[Czechoslovak Legions|Czechoslovak legionnaires]] in Italy executed after being captured by the Austro-Hungarian forces.]]
The [[Italy|Italian]] law defines various types of crimes that could be generally described as treason (''tradimento''), although they are so many and so precisely defined that no one of them is simply called ''tradimento'' in the text of ''Codice Penale'' (Italian Criminal Code). The treason-type crimes are grouped as "crimes against the personhood of the State" (''Crimini contro la personalità dello Stato'') in the Second Book, First Title, of the Criminal Code.

Articles 241 to 274 detail crimes against the "international [[Legal personality|personhood]] of the State" such as "attempt against wholeness, independence and [[Secession|unity of the State]]" (art. 241), "hostilities against a foreign State bringing the Italian State in danger of war" (art. 244), "[[bribery]] of a citizen by a foreigner against the national interests" (art. 246), and "political or military [[espionage]]" (art. 257).

Articles 276 to 292 detail crimes against the "domestic personhood of the State", ranging from "attempt on the [[President of Italy|President of the Republic]]" (art. 271), "attempt with purposes of [[terrorism]] or of [[subversion]]" (art. 280), "attempt against the [[Constitution of Italy|Constitution]]" (art. 283), "armed [[Rebellion|insurrection]] against the power of the State" (art. 284), and "[[civil war]]" (art. 286).

Further articles detail other crimes, especially those of conspiracy, such as "[[List of conspiracies (political)|political conspiracy]] through association" (art. 305), or "armed association: creating and participating" (art. 306).

The penalties for treason-type crimes before the abolition of the [[Kingdom of Italy|monarchy]] in 1948 included [[Capital punishment|death]] as maximum penalty and, for some crimes, as the only penalty possible. Nowadays the maximum penalty is [[life imprisonment]] (''ergastolo'').

===Japan===
From 1947 [[Japan]] does not technically have a law of treason.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=June 12, 2007|title=Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1907)|url=https://www.oecd.org/site/adboecdanti-corruptioninitiative/46814456.pdf|journal=Penal Code of Japan|pages=1–5}}</ref> Instead it has an offence against taking part in foreign aggression against the Japanese state (''gaikan zai''; literally "crime of foreign mischief"). The law applies equally to Japanese and non-Japanese people, while treason in other countries usually applies only to their own citizens. Technically there are two laws, one for the crime of inviting foreign mischief ([[Penal Code of Japan|Japan Criminal Code]] section 2 clause 81) and the other for supporting foreign mischief once a foreign force has invaded Japan. "Mischief" can be anything from invasion to espionage. Before [[World War II]], [[Empire of Japan|Imperial Japan]] had a crime similar to the English crime of high treason (''Taigyaku zai''), which applied to anyone who harmed the [[Emperor of Japan|Japanese emperor]] or [[Imperial House of Japan|imperial family]]. This law was abolished by the [[Occupation of Japan|American occupation force]] after World War II.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199295678.001.0001/acref-9780199295678-e-1836|title=A Dictionary of Contemporary World History|last=Palmowski|first=Jan|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2016|isbn=9780199295678}}</ref>

The application of "Crimes Related to Insurrection" to the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] cult of [[religious terrorism|religious terrorists]] was proposed from lawyers of a defendant who was a high-ranked subordinate so that the cult leader solely would be deemed as responsible. The court rejected this argument.<ref>[https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/43074?page=3 Bunshun.jp]</ref>

===New Zealand===
New Zealand has treason laws that are stipulated under the [[Crimes Act 1961]]. Section 73 of the Crimes Act reads as follows:

<blockquote>
Every one owing allegiance to the Sovereign [[Monarchy in New Zealand|in right of New Zealand]] commits treason who, within or outside New Zealand,–
:(a) kills or wounds or does grievous bodily harm to the Sovereign, or imprisons or restrains her or him; or
:(b) levies war against New Zealand; or
:(c) assists an enemy at war with New Zealand, or any armed forces against which New Zealand forces are engaged in hostilities, whether or not a state of war exists between New Zealand and any other country; or
:(d) incites or assists any person with force to invade New Zealand; or
:(e) uses force for the purpose of overthrowing the Government of New Zealand; or
:(f) conspires with any person to do anything mentioned in this section.<ref>{{cite web|title=Crimes against public order: Treason and other crimes against the Queen and the State|url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1961/0043/latest/DLM328520.html#DLM328520|work=Crimes Act 1961, section 73|publisher=New Zealand Government|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The penalty is mandatory [[Life imprisonment in New Zealand|life imprisonment]], except for conspiracy and attempts, for which the maximum sentence is 14 years' imprisonment.<ref>Section 74</ref> Treason was the last [[Capital punishment in New Zealand|capital crime]] in [[Law of New Zealand|New Zealand law]]: the death penalty for the offence was not revoked until 1989, 28 years after it was abolished for [[murder]].

Very few people have been prosecuted for the act of treason in New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web|title=Part D – Specific Oaths|url=http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/global-publications/r/review-of-oaths-and-affirmations-a-public-discussion-paper-may-2004/part-d-specific-oaths#2.2%20%20%20%20%20Matters%20to%20consider|work=Review of Oaths and Affirmations|publisher=New Zealand Ministry of Justice|access-date=17 November 2012|date=May 2004|archive-date=9 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209054615/http://justice.govt.nz/publications/global-publications/r/review-of-oaths-and-affirmations-a-public-discussion-paper-may-2004/part-d-specific-oaths#2.2%20%20%20%20%20Matters%20to%20consider|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Norway===
Article 85 of the [[Constitution of Norway]] states that "[a]ny person who obeys an order the purpose of which is to disturb the liberty and security of the [[Storting]] <nowiki>[Parliament]</nowiki> is thereby guilty of treason against the country."<ref>[https://www.stortinget.no/globalassets/pdf/english/constitutionenglish.pdf The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway] from the Norwegian Parliament's website</ref>

===Russia===
[[File:Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza.jpg|thumb|Russian political activist [[Vladimir Kara-Murza]] was sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason and other offences]]
Article 275 of the [[Criminal Code of Russia]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Chapter 29. Crimes Against the Fundamentals of the Constitutional System and State Security|url=http://www.russian-criminal-code.com/PartII/SectionX/Chapter29.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060621193052/http://www.russian-criminal-code.com/PartII/SectionX/Chapter29.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=June 21, 2006|work=The Criminal Code Of The Russian Federation|publisher=Open LLC|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> as updated in April 2023, defines treason as "espionage, disclosure of state secrets, or any other assistance rendered to a foreign State, a foreign organization, or their representatives in hostile activities to the detriment of the external security of the [[Russian Federation]], committed by a citizen of the Russian Federation." The penalty is imprisonment from 12 years to life. Subsequent sections provide for further offences against state security, such as armed rebellion and forcible seizure of power.

On 30 June 2022, Russian physicist [[Dmitry Kolker]] was arrested on suspicion of passing information to China.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-07-03|title=Умер арестованный по делу о госизмене больной раком ученый Дмитрий Колкер|url=https://www.vedomosti.ru/society/news/2022/07/03/929585-umer-kolker/|access-date=2024-05-22|website=Ведомости|language=ru}}</ref>

On 17 April 2023, Russian opposition politician and anti-war activist [[Vladimir Kara-Murza]] was convicted on charges of treason and [[Russian 2022 war censorship laws|spreading disinformation about the Russian military]], and sentenced to 25 years in prison.<ref>{{cite news|title=Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza sentenced to 25 years in prison|url=https://meduza.io/en/news/2023/04/17/russian-opposition-politician-vladimir-kara-murza-sentenced-to-25-years-in-prison|work=Meduza|date=17 April 2023|archive-date=17 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417092709/https://meduza.io/en/news/2023/04/17/russian-opposition-politician-vladimir-kara-murza-sentenced-to-25-years-in-prison|url-status=live}}</ref> Kara-Murza's conviction is the longest sentence for political activity since the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|fall of the Soviet Union]], and the length of the sentence is comparable only to [[Great Purge|Stalin's purges]] in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite news|title=Putin's Regime Is Descending into Stalinism|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/18/vladimir-kara-murza-death-struggle-vladimir-putin-00092499|work=Politico|date=18 April 2023|first=Leon|last=Aron}}</ref>

In early 2024, [[Russian Americans|Russian American]] ballet dancer [[Ksenia Karelina]] was arrested in Yekaterinburg and charged with treason for sending $51.80 to [[Razom]], a [[New York City]]-based nonprofit organization that sends humanitarian assistance to [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Kottasová|first1=Ivana|last2=Stapleton|first2=AnneClaire|date=2024-08-07|title=Russian-American woman admits guilt in treason case, Russian state media reports|url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/07/europe/ksenia-karelina-russian-american-treason-guilt-intl/index.html|access-date=2024-08-07|publisher=CNN|language=en}}</ref> She initially faced life in prison, but pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ksenia Karelina: US-Russian woman jailed in Russia for 12 years for treason|date=15 August 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp9rygl5k4jo|access-date=2024-08-15|publisher=BBC|language=en-GB}}</ref>

===South Korea===
According to Article 87 of the [[Criminal Code of South Korea]], "a person who creates a violence for the purpose of usurping the national territory or subverting the Constitution" can be found guilty of insurrection.<ref>{{Cite web|author=UNHCR|title=Republic of Korea: Criminal Code|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f49e3ed4.html|access-date=2021-01-29|website=Refworld|language=en}}</ref> The punishments for insurrection are as follows:

<blockquote>
* "Ring Leader": death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment without prison labor for life.
* "A person who participates in a plot, or commands, or engages in other essential activities": death, imprisonment for life, imprisonment or imprisonment without prison labor, for not less than five years.
* "A person who has committed acts of killing, wounding, destroying or plundering": death, imprisonment for life, imprisonment or imprisonment without prison labor, for not less than five years.
* "A person who merely responds to the agitation and follows the lead of another or merely joins in the violence":  imprisonment or imprisonment without prison labor for not more than five years.
</blockquote>

===Sweden===
Sweden's treason laws are divided into three parts; ''Högförräderi'' (High treason), ''Landsförräderi'' (Treason) and ''Landssvek'' (Treachery).

High treason means crimes committed with the intent to put the Nation, or parts thereof, under foreign rule or influence. It is governed by [[Brottsbalken]] (Criminal Code) chapter 19 paragraph 1.

<blockquote>
A person who, with intent that the country or a part of it will, by violent or otherwise illegal means or with foreign assistance, be subjugated by a foreign power or made dependent on such a power, or that, in this way, a part of the country will be detached, undertakes an action that involves danger of this intent being realised is guilty of high treason and is sentenced to imprisonment for a fixed term of at least ten and at most eighteen years, or for life or, if the danger was minor, to imprisonment for at least four and at most ten years.

A person who, with intent that a measure or decision of the Head of State, the Government, the Riksdag or the supreme courts will be forced or impeded with foreign assistance, undertakes an action that involves danger of this is also guilty of high treason.<ref name=Sweden>{{cite web|url=https://www.government.se/49f391/contentassets/7a2dcae0787e465e9a2431554b5eab03/the-swedish-criminal-code.pdf|title=The Swedish Criminal Code|publisher=Government.se|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809192332/https://www.government.se/49f391/contentassets/7a2dcae0787e465e9a2431554b5eab03/the-swedish-criminal-code.pdf|archive-date=9 August 2021}}</ref></blockquote>

Treason is only applicable when the nation is at war and involves crimes committed with the intent of hindering, misguiding or betraying the defence of the Nation. It is governed by Brottsbalken chapter 22 paragraph 1.

<blockquote>
A person who, when the country is at war:

1. impedes, misleads or betrays others who are engaged in the country's defence, or induces them to mutiny, disloyalty or dejection;

2. betrays, destroys or damages property of importance for the total defence;

3. obtains personnel, property or services for the enemy; or

4. commits another similar treacherous act,

is, if the act is liable to result in considerable detriment to the total defence, or includes considerable assistance to the enemy, guilty of treason and is sentenced to imprisonment for a fixed term of at least four and at most ten years, or for life.<ref name=Sweden /></blockquote>

Treachery is a lesser form of Treason, where the intended effects are less severe. It is governed by Brottsbalken chapter 22 paragraph 2.

<blockquote>
A person who commits an act referred to in Section 1 that is only liable to result in detriment to the total defence to a lesser extent, or includes more minor assistance to the enemy than is stated there, is guilty of treachery and is sentenced to imprisonment for at most six years.<ref name=Sweden /></blockquote>

Until 1973 Sweden also had another form of treason called ''Krigsförräderi'' (treason at war), which were acts of Treason committed by military personnel. Although Sweden had outlawed [[capital punishment]] in peace time in 1922, this type of treason carried the [[death penalty]] until 1973.

Some media reported that four teenagers (their names were not reported) were convicted of treason after they assaulted King [[Carl XVI Gustaf]] of Sweden by throwing a cake on his face on 6 September 2001.<ref>{{cite news|title=Swedish Tart Attack was Treason|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/12/03/sweden.treason/|publisher=CNN|date=December 3, 2001}}</ref> In reality they were however not convicted of treason but of ''Högmålsbrott'', translated as ''Treasonable offence'' in English, which in Swedish criminal law are acts with the intent to overthrow the Form of Government, or impede or hinder the Government, the Riksdag, the Supreme Court or the Head of State. The law also prohibits the use of force against the King or any member of the royal family. It is governed by Brottsbalken chapter 18. They were fined between 80 and 100 days' income.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bakverk mot kungen gav dryga dagsböter|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/vm5xVl/bakverk-mot-kungen-gav-dryga-dagsboter|work=Aftonbladet|date=December 3, 2001}}</ref>

===Switzerland===
There is no single crime of treason in [[Swiss law]]; instead, multiple criminal prohibitions apply. Article 265 of the [[Strafgesetzbuch (Switzerland)|Swiss Criminal Code]] prohibits "high treason" (''Hochverrat/haute trahison'') as follows:
<blockquote>
Whoever commits an act with the objective of violently<br />
– changing the [[Swiss Federal Constitution|constitution of the Confederation]] or of a [[Swiss cantons|canton]],<br />
– removing the constitutional authorities of the state from office or making them unable to exercise their authority,<br />
– separating Swiss territory from the Confederation or territory from a canton,
shall be punished with imprisonment of no less than a year.
</blockquote>

A separate crime is defined in article 267 as "diplomatic treason" (''Diplomatischer Landesverrat/Trahison diplomatique''):
<blockquote>
1. Whoever makes known or accessible a secret, the preservation of which is required in the interest of the Confederation, to a foreign state or its agents, (...) shall be punished with imprisonment of no less than a year.<br />
2. Whoever makes known or accessible a secret, the preservation of which is required in the interest of the Confederation, to the public, shall be punished with imprisonment of up to five years or a monetary penalty.
</blockquote>

In 1950, in the context of the [[Cold War]], the following prohibition of "foreign enterprises against the security of Switzerland" was introduced as article 266<sup>bis</sup>:
<blockquote>
<sup>1</sup> Whoever, with the purpose of inciting or supporting foreign enterprises aimed against the security of Switzerland, enters into contact with a foreign state or with foreign parties or other foreign organizations or their agents, or makes or disseminates untrue or tendentious claims (''unwahre oder entstellende Behauptungen / informations inexactes ou tendancieuses''), shall be punished with imprisonment of up to five years or a monetary penalty.<br />
<sup>2</sup> In grave cases the judge may pronounce a sentence of imprisonment of no less than a year.
</blockquote>

The criminal code also prohibits, among other acts, the suppression or falsification of legal documents or evidence relevant to the international relations of Switzerland (art. 267, imprisonment of no less than a year) and attacks against the independence of Switzerland and incitement of a war against Switzerland (art. 266, up to life imprisonment).

The Swiss military criminal code contains additional prohibitions under the general title of "treason", which also apply to civilians, or which in times of war civilians are also (or may by executive decision be made) subject to. These include [[espionage]] or transmission of secrets to a foreign power (art. 86); [[sabotage]] (art. 86a); "military treason", i.e., the disruption of activities of military significance (art. 87); acting as a [[franc-tireur]] (art. 88); disruption of military action by disseminating untrue information (art. 89); military service against Switzerland by Swiss nationals (art. 90); or giving aid to the enemy (art. 91). The penalties for these crimes vary, but include life imprisonment in some cases.

===Turkey===
[[File:Air Commodore Kaiser Tufail receiving a memento from Commander of the Turkish Air Force General Akin Ozturk (cropped).jpg|thumb|General [[Akın Öztürk]] was reported as being the leader of the [[2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt]]. Öztürk and 26 other generals and admirals were charged with treason.]]
Treason ''per se'' is not defined in the Turkish Penal Code. However, the law defines crimes which are traditionally included in the scope of treason, such as cooperating with the enemy during wartime. Treason is punishable by imprisonment up to life.

===Ukraine===
{{See also|Collaboration with Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine}}
Article 111, paragraph 1, of the Ukrainian Criminal Code (adopted in 2001) states:

{{blockquote|High treason, that is an act willfully committed by a citizen of Ukraine in the detriment of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability, defense capability, and state, economic or information security of Ukraine: joining the enemy at the time of martial law or armed conflict, espionage, assistance in subversive activities against Ukraine provided to a foreign state, a foreign organization or their representatives,-
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of ten to fifteen years.<ref>[https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/uploads/res/document/ukr/2001/criminal-code-of-the-republic-of-ukraine-en_html/Ukraine_Criminal_Code_as_of_2010_EN.pdf Criminal Code of Ukraine] (.pdf file, retrieved 24 February 2023)</ref>}}

Articles 109 to 114 set out other offences against the state, such as sabotage.

===United Kingdom===
{{Main|High treason in the United Kingdom}}
{{See also|Petty treason|Treason felony}}
[[File:Execution of thomas armstrong 1683.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.15|Engraving depicting the execution of [[Sir Thomas Armstrong]] in 1684 for complicity in the [[Rye House Plot]]; he was [[hanged, drawn and quartered]].]]

The British law of treason is entirely [[statutory]] and has been so since the [[Treason Act 1351]] (25 Edw. 3 St. 5 c. 2). The Act is written in [[Anglo-Norman language|Norman French]], but is more commonly cited in its English translation.

The Treason Act 1351 has since been amended several times, and currently provides for four categories of treasonable offences, namely:

* "when a man doth compass or imagine the death of our lord the King, or of our lady his Queen or of their eldest son and heir" (following the [[Succession to the Crown Act 2013]] this is read to mean the eldest child and heir);
* "if a man do violate the King's companion, or the King's eldest daughter unmarried, or the wife of the King's eldest son and heir"<ref>As was widely pointed out in the press at the time, if the allegations that [[James Hewitt]] had an affair with [[Princess Diana]] whilst she was married to [[Prince Charles]] had been substantiated, it would have amounted to the crime of treason. Queens [[Anne Boleyn]], [[Catherine Howard]] and [[Caroline of Brunswick]] were prosecuted for treasonable adultery.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Ipsen|first=Erik|title='Kiss and Tell' Officer Draws Heaps of Scorn|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/05/news/05iht-royale.html|access-date=17 November 2012|work=The New York Times|date=5 October 1994}}</ref> (following the [[Succession to the Crown Act 2013]] this is read to mean the eldest son if the heir);
* "if a man do levy war against our lord the King in his realm, or be adherent to the King's enemies in his realm, giving to them aid and comfort in the realm, or elsewhere"; and
* "if a man slea [slay] the [[Lord Chancellor|chancellor]], [[Lord High Treasurer|treasurer]], or the King's justices of the one bench or the other, [[Justice in eyre|justices in eyre]], or justices of assise, and all other justices assigned to hear and determine, being in their places, doing their offices".

Another Act, the [[Treason Act 1702]] (1 Anne stat. 2 c. 21), provides for a fifth category of treason, namely:

* "if any person or persons ... shall endeavour to deprive or hinder any person who shall be the next in succession to the crown ... from succeeding after the decease of her Majesty (whom God long preserve) to the imperial crown of this realm and the dominions and territories thereunto belonging".

By virtue of the [[Treason Act 1708]], the law of treason in [[Scotland]] is the same as the law in England, save that in Scotland the slaying of the [[Senator of the College of Justice|Lords of Session]] and [[Senator of the College of Justice|Lords of Justiciary]] and counterfeiting the [[Great Seal of Scotland]] remain treason under sections 11 and 12 of the Treason Act 1708 respectively.<ref>{{cite web|title=Treason Act 1708|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/apgb/Ann/7/21/contents|publisher=legislation.gov.uk|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> Treason is a [[reserved and excepted matters|reserved matter]] about which the [[Scottish Parliament]] is prohibited from legislating. Two acts of the former [[Parliament of Ireland]] passed in [[Treason Act (Ireland) 1537|1537]] and [[Crown of Ireland Act 1542|1542]] create further treasons which apply in [[Northern Ireland]].

The [[Treason Act 1814|penalty for treason]] was changed from death to a maximum of imprisonment for life under the [[Crime and Disorder Act 1998]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Crime and Disorder Act 1998|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/37/contents#pt2-pb3-l1g36|publisher=legislation.gov.uk|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> Before 1998, the death penalty was mandatory, subject to the [[pardon|royal prerogative of mercy]]. Since the abolition of the [[Capital punishment in the United Kingdom|death penalty]] for murder in 1965 an execution for treason was unlikely to have been carried out.

Treason laws were used against Irish insurgents before [[Anglo-Irish Treaty|Irish independence]]. However, members of the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]] and other [[Irish republicanism|militant republican]] groups were not prosecuted or executed for treason for levying war against the British government during [[the Troubles]]. They, along with members of [[Ulster Loyalism|loyalist]] paramilitary groups, were jailed for [[murder]], violent crimes or [[terrorist]] offences. [[William Joyce]] ("[[Lord Haw-Haw]]") was the last person to be put to death for treason, in 1946. (On the following day [[Theodore Schurch]] was executed for [[Treachery Act 1940|treachery]], a similar crime, and was the last man to be executed for a crime other than murder in the UK.)
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J16796, Rommel mit Soldaten der Legion "Freies Indien".jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The ''[[Indische Legion]]'' attached to the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] was created in 1941, mainly from disaffected Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army.]]

As to who can commit treason, it depends on the ancient notion of [[allegiance]]. As such, all [[British national]]s (but not other [[Commonwealth citizen]]s) owe allegiance to the sovereign in right of the United Kingdom wherever they may be, as do Commonwealth citizens and aliens present in the United Kingdom at the time of the treasonable act (except diplomats and foreign invading forces), those who hold a British passport however obtained, and aliens who have lived in Britain and departed, but leaving behind family and belongings.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/oct/17/treason-act-facts-british-extremists-iraq-syria-isis|title=Treason Act: the facts|last=Gani|first=Aisha|date=2014-10-17|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-04-03|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> {{Failed verification|date=February 2023}}

====International influence====
The [[Treason Act 1695]] enacted, among other things, a rule that treason could be proved only in a trial by the evidence of two witnesses to the same offence. Nearly one hundred years later this rule was incorporated into the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]],<ref>[[Joseph Storey|Storey, J.]] (1833) ''[[Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States]]'', [https://lonang.com/library/reference/story-commentaries-us-constitution/sto-339/ §1796]</ref> which requires two witnesses to the same [[overt act]]. It also provided for a three-year time limit on bringing prosecutions for treason (except for assassinating the king), another rule which has been imitated in some common law countries.

The [[Sedition Act 1661]] made it treason to imprison, restrain or wound the king. Although this law was repealed in the United Kingdom in 1998, it still continues to apply in some [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries.

===United States===
{{See also|Treason laws in the United States}}
The offense of treason exists at both federal and state levels. The federal crime is defined in the Constitution (and is the only crime defined by it) as either levying war against the United States or adhering to its enemies, and carries a sentence of death or imprisonment and fine.

In the 1790s, [[Opposition (politics)|opposition]] political parties were new and not fully accepted. Government leaders often considered their opponents to be traitors. Historian [[Ron Chernow]] reports that Secretary of the Treasury [[Alexander Hamilton]] and President [[George Washington]] "regarded much of the criticism fired at their administration as disloyal, even treasonous, in nature."<ref>{{cite book|author=Ron Chernow|title=Alexander Hamilton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4iafgTEhU3QC&pg=PA392|year=2005|publisher=Penguin Books|page=392|isbn=9780143034759}}</ref> When the undeclared [[Quasi-War]] broke out with [[French First Republic|France]] in 1797–98, "Hamilton increasingly mistook dissent for treason and engaged in hyperbole." Furthermore, the [[Democratic-Republican Party|Jeffersonian opposition party]] behaved the same way.<ref>{{cite book|author=Chernow|title=Alexander Hamilton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4iafgTEhU3QC&pg=PA569|year=2005|page=569|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0143034759}}</ref> After 1801, with a peaceful transition in the political party in power, the rhetoric of "treason" against political opponents diminished.<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Hofstadter|title=The Idea of a Party System: The Rise of Legitimate Opposition in the United States, 1780–1840|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JdVQmgnDv84C&pg=PA141|year=1969|publisher=University of California Press|page=141|isbn=978-0520017542}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|jstor=2710583|title=The Federalist Period as an Age of Passion|journal=American Quarterly|volume=10|issue=4|pages=391–419|last=Smelser|first=Marshall|year=1958|doi=10.2307/2710583}}</ref>

In the United States, [[Benedict Arnold]]'s name is considered synonymous with treason due to his collaboration with the British during the [[American Revolutionary War]].

"Traitor" was in some cases treated as an honorable label when there had been considerable dissent from policies of the central government. "All the Founding Fathers had once been branded traitors by an unjust establishment power structure. So too, before them, had the Plymouth and Salem Puritans to whom so many...traced their roots."<ref name=Renehan>{{cite book|title=The Secret Six. The True Tale of the Men Who Conspired with John Brown|first=Edward J.|last=Renehan, Jr.|location=New York|publisher=Crown|date=1995|isbn=051759028X}}</ref>{{rp|55}} [[Abolitionism in the United States|Abolitionists]], who denied the authority of the federal government (see [[Secession in the United States#Abolitionists seek Northern secession|Secession in the United States]]), proudly called each other traitors. This includes [[Theodore Parker]], [[Thomas Wentworth Higginson]], [[Samuel Gridley Howe]], "and those like them." [[William Lloyd Garrison]] "proudly called himself a traitor for decades."<ref name=Renehan/>{{rp|55}}

====Federal====
To avoid the abuses of the English law, the scope of treason was specifically restricted in the [[United States Constitution]]. [[Article Three of the United States Constitution|Article III]], section 3 reads as follows:

{{blockquote|Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no [[Attainder]] of Treason shall work [[Attainder#Corruption of blood|Corruption of Blood]], or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.}}

The Constitution does not itself create the offense; it only restricts the definition (the first paragraph), permits the [[United States Congress]] to create the offense, and restricts any punishment for treason to only the convicted (the second paragraph). The crime is prohibited by legislation passed by [[United States Congress|Congress]]. Therefore, the [[United States Code]] at {{usc|18|2381}} states: {{blockquote|Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.}}

The requirement of testimony of two witnesses was inherited from the British [[Treason Act 1695]].

However, Congress has passed laws creating related offenses that punish conduct that undermines the government or the national security, such as [[sedition]] in the 1798 [[Alien and Sedition Acts]], or [[espionage]] and [[sedition]] in the [[Espionage Act of 1917]], which do not require the testimony of two witnesses and have a much broader definition than Article Three treason. Some of these laws are still in effect. The well-known spies [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg]] were charged with, and [[Capital punishment in the United States|executed]] after being convicted of, conspiracy to commit espionage, rather than treason.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/15/weekinreview/nation-rosenbergs-50-years-later-yes-they-were-guilty-but-what-exactly.html "The Nation: The Rosenbergs, 50 Years Later; Yes, They Were Guilty. But of What Exactly?"] by Sam Roberts, ''The New York Times'', 15 June 2003</ref> The last American executed primarily for treason was [[William Bruce Mumford]] in 1862.

====Treason against U.S. states====
Most states have treason provisions in their constitutions or statutes similar to those in the U.S. Constitution. The [[Extradition Clause]] specifically defines treason as an extraditable offense.

Thomas Jefferson in 1791 said that any [[Virginia]] official who cooperated with the federal [[First Bank of the United States|Bank of the United States]] proposed by [[Alexander Hamilton]] was guilty of "treason" against the state of Virginia and should be executed.  The bank opened and no one was prosecuted.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ron Chernow|title=Alexander Hamilton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4iafgTEhU3QC&pg=PA352|year=2005|publisher=Penguin Books|page=352|isbn=9780143034759}}</ref>

Several persons have been prosecuted for treason on the state level. [[Thomas Dorr]] was convicted for treason against the state of [[Rhode Island]] for his part in the [[Dorr Rebellion]], but was eventually granted [[amnesty]]. [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] was convicted of treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia for his part in the 1859 [[John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry|raid on Harpers Ferry]], and was hanged. The [[Mormon]] [[prophet]], [[Joseph Smith]], was charged with treason against [[Missouri]] along with five others, at first in front of a state [[military court]], but Smith was allowed to escape<ref>{{cite web|last=Walker|first=Jeff|title=A Change of Venue: Joseph Smith's Escape from Liberty Jail|website=Fairmormon.org|date=2 August 2007|url=https://www.fairmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2007-Jeffrey-Walker.pdf}}</ref> to [[Illinois]] after his case was transferred to a civilian court for trial on charges of treason and other crimes.<ref>Fawn M. Brodie, ''No Man Knows My History'' (1945, reprinted 1995, NY, Vintage Books) chap. 17, p. 255.</ref> Smith was then later imprisoned for trial on charges of treason against Illinois, but was murdered by a lynch mob while in jail awaiting trial.

===Vietnam===
The [[Constitution of Vietnam]] proclaims that treason is the most serious crime. It is further regulated in the country's 2015 Criminal Code with the 78th article:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hinhsu.luatviet.co/toi-phan-boi-to-quoc-duoc-quy-dinh-the-nao/n20161028120823002.html|title=Tội phản bội tổ quốc được quy định thế nào?|website=hinhsu.luatviet.co}}</ref>
{{blockquote|
#Any Vietnamese citizen acting in collusion with a foreign country with the intention of causing harm to the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Fatherland, the national defense forces, the socialist regime or the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam shall be sentenced to between twelve and twenty years of imprisonment, life imprisonment or capital punishment.
#In the event of many extenuating circumstances, the offenders shall be subject to between seven and fifteen years of imprisonment.}}

Also, according to the Law on Amnesty amended in November 2018, it is impossible for those convicted for treason to be granted amnesty.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vietnamnet.vn/vn/thoi-su/quoc-hoi/pham-nhan-phan-boi-to-quoc-lat-do-chinh-quyen-khong-duoc-dac-xa-489659.html|title=Phạm nhân phản bội tổ quốc, lật đổ chính quyền không được đặc xá|language=Vietnamese|website=VietNamNet}}</ref>

===Muslim-majority countries===
Early in [[Islamic history]], the only form of treason was seen as the attempt to overthrow a just government or waging war against the State. According to Islamic tradition, the prescribed punishment ranged from imprisonment to the severing of limbs and the death penalty depending on the severity of the crime. However, even in cases of treason the repentance of a person would have to be taken into account.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chapter 5 Al-Ma'idah|url=http://www.alislam.org/quran/tafseer/?page=244&region=EN|work=Al Islam|publisher=Ahmadiyya Muslim Community|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref>

Currently, the consensus among major Islamic schools is that [[Apostasy in Islam|apostasy]] (leaving Islam) is considered treason and that the penalty is death; this is supported not in the [[Quran]] but in [[hadith]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Cooney|first=Daniel|title=Christian convert faces death penalty in Afghanistan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/mar/20/afghanistan.islam|access-date=17 November 2012|work=The Guardian|date=19 March 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Clerics Call for Christian Convert's Death Despite Western Outrage|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/clerics-call-for-christian-converts-death-despite-western-outrage|publisher=Fox News|access-date=17 November 2012|date=23 March 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Samir|first=Samir Khalil|title=Hegazi case: Islam's obsession with conversions|url=http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=10161|work=AsiaNews.it|publisher=AsiaNews C.F.|access-date=17 November 2012|date=29 August 2007}}</ref> This confusion between apostasy and treason almost certainly had its roots in the [[Ridda Wars]], in which an army of rebel traitors led by the self-proclaimed prophet [[Musaylima]] attempted to destroy the [[caliphate]] of [[Abu Bakr]].

In the 19th and early 20th century, the Iranian Cleric [[Sheikh Fazlollah Noori]] opposed the [[Iranian Constitutional Revolution]] by inciting insurrection against them through issuing fatwas and publishing pamphlets arguing that democracy would bring vice to the country. The new government executed him for treason in 1909.

In [[Malaysia]], it is treason to commit offences against the [[Yang di-Pertuan Agong]]'s person, or to wage or attempt to wage war or abet the waging of war against the [[Yang di-Pertuan Agong]], a Ruler or [[Yang di-Pertua Negeri]]. All these offences are punishable by hanging, which derives from the English treason acts (as a former British colony, Malaysia's legal system is based on English [[common law]]).

[[Saudi Arabia]] accused 10 judges of treason, the crime that is punishable by death in the Kingdom. One of the judges, Abdullah bin Khaled al-Luhaidan sentenced [[Loujain al-Hathloul]] to five years and eight months in prison over "inciting change to the basic ruling regime". Such prison sentences were considered "lenient". The judges were forced to sign a confession that they were not giving tougher prison sentence to the activists and in the social media censorship cases. The treason charges were handed out to them in a secret hearing on 16 February 2023. After their detention, [[Mohammed bin Salman]]'s loyalist were made to hold their positions.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/15/mbs-saudi-arabia-judges-lenient/|title=10 Saudi judges are charged with treason. They were too 'lenient.'|access-date=15 March 2023|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

====Algeria====
[[File:Harki-j.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|A young [[Harki]], an Algerian who served the French during the Algerian War, circa 1961]]
In [[Algeria]], treason is defined as the following:
* attempts to change the regime or actions aimed at incitement
* destruction of territory, sabotage to public and economic utilities
* participation in armed bands or ''in insurrectionary movements''

====Bahrain====
In [[Bahrain]], plotting to topple the regime, collaborating with a foreign hostile country and threatening the life of the Emir are defined as treason and punishable by death. The [[State Security Law of 1974]] was used to crush dissent that could be seen as treasonous, which was criticised for permitting severe human rights violations in accordance with Article One:

{{blockquote|If there is serious evidence that a person has perpetrated acts, delivered statements, exercised activities, or has been involved in contacts inside or outside the country, which are of a nature considered to be in violation of the internal or external security of the country, the religious and national interests of the State, its social or economic system; or considered to be an act of sedition that affects or can possibly affect the existing relations between the people and Government, between the various institutions of the State, between the classes of the people, or between those who work in corporations propagating subversive propaganda or disseminating atheistic principles; the Minister of Interior may order the arrest of that person, committing him to one of Bahrain's prisons, searching him, his residence and the place of his work, and may take any measure which he deems necessary for gathering evidence and completing investigations.

The period of detention may not exceed three years. Searches may only be made and the measures provided for in the first paragraph may only be taken upon judicial writ.}}

====Palestine====
{{Further|Capital punishment in the Gaza Strip}}
In the areas controlled by the [[Palestinian National Authority]], it is treason to give assistance to Israeli troops without the authorization of the Palestinian Authority or to sell land to [[Jews]] (irrespective of nationality) or non-Jewish [[Israeli citizenship law|Israeli citizens]] under the [[Palestinian Land Laws]], as part of the PA's general policy of discouraging the expansion of [[Israeli settlement]]s. Both crimes are capital offences subject to the [[death penalty]], although the former provision has not often been enforced since the beginning of effective security cooperation between the [[Israel Defense Forces]], [[Israel Police]], and [[Palestinian National Security Forces]] since the mid-2000s (decade) under the leadership of Prime Minister [[Salam Fayyad]]. Likewise, in the [[Gaza Strip]] under the [[Hamas]]-led government, any sort of cooperation or assistance to Israeli security forces during military actions is also [[Capital punishment in the Gaza Strip|punishable by death]].

==Related offences==
There are a number of other crimes against the state short of treason:
* [[Apostasy in Islam]], considered treason in Islamic belief
* [[Compounding treason]], dropping a prosecution for treason in exchange for money or money's worth
* [[Defection]], or leaving the country, regarded in some communist countries (especially during the [[Cold War]]) as disloyalty to the state
* [[Espionage]] or spying
* [[Lèse-majesté]], insulting a [[head of state]] and a crime in some countries
* [[Misprision of treason]], a crime consisting of the concealment of treason
* [[Sedition]], inciting civil unrest or insurrection, or undermining the government
* [[Treachery (law)|Treachery]], attacking a state regardless of allegiance
* [[Treason felony]], a British offence tantamount to treason

==See also==
* [[Betrayal]]
* [[Constructive treason]]
* [[Law of majestas]]
* [[List of people convicted of treason]]

===Terms for traitors===
* [[Benedict Arnold]]
* [[Ephialtes of Trachis|Ephialtes]]
* [[Hanjian]]
* [[Jash (term)]]
* [[Judas Iscariot|Judas]]
* [[Mir Jafar]]
* [[Quisling]]
* [[Việt gian]]
* [[Andrey Vlasov|Vlasov]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last1=Bellemare|first1=Pierre|last2=Nahmias|first2=Jean-François|date=2009|title=La Terrible vérité: 26 grandes énigmes de l'histoire enfin résolues|publisher=Albin Michel|isbn=978-2-226-19676-7|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=f61klGc9A3EC&pg=PT149 149]|language=fr}}
*{{Cite book|title=A History of Treason: The bloody history of Britain through the stories of its most notorious traitors|author=The National Archives|publisher=John Blake Publishing|isbn=978-1-78946-628-7|date=2022}}
*{{Cite book|last=Bellamy|first=J. G.|title=The Law of Treason in England in the Later Middle Ages|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52638-8|date=2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hhsY0Yq8sWEC}}
*{{Cite book|last=Hostettler|first=John|title=A History of Criminal Justice in England and Wales|publisher=Waterside Press|isbn=978-1-906534-79-0|date=2009}}

==Further reading==
* Ben-Yehuda, Nachman, "Betrayals and Treason. Violations of trust and Loyalty." Westview Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-8133-9776-6}}
* Ó Longaigh, Seosamh, "Emergency Law in Independent Ireland, 1922–1948", Four Courts Press, Dublin 2006 {{ISBN|1-85182-922-9}}
* Philippe Buc, "Civil war and religion in Medieval Japan and Medieval Europe: War for the gods, emotions at death, and treason", The Indian Economic and Social History Review 57:2 (2020), 1–27.
*West, Rebecca. 1952. ''The Meaning of Treason''. London: Macmillan & Co. LTD.

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Sister project links|b=no|q=no|s=no|n=no|v=no}}
{{Wiktionary|traitor|treason}}
* [http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/subcommittees/investigations Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations], Official site

{{Types of crime}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Treason| ]]
[[Category:National security]]