Threats to kill or cause grievous bodily harm are criminal offenses. Specifically, Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation means a promise of physical violence causing grievous bodily harm or a promise of murder.
It is very important that it is not the real motives of the accused that are proven, but only the subjective perception of the victim: how he perceived these threats.
The fact is that if the victim perceives the threats realistically, then his sleep is disturbed, he becomes nervous and begins to worry, then the court and investigative authorities will accept this as evidence of the reality of the threats that were promised to him. In this case, it does not matter at all whether the person who made the threats could carry them out or not.
Specific example
The man believed that the famous phrase from the film “Gentlemen of Fortune” - “I’ll tear the jaws, I’ll gouge out the blinkers” is an aphorism. In one of the Internet chats, while communicating with someone, he wrote exactly that. After this, what is important, he did not stop threatening, he repeated and repeated this phrase and even began to develop exactly how, where, why and why he would perform the described actions.
The person whom he threatened in such a joking manner, as he believed, wrote a statement against him. Having analyzed all the correspondence and the applicant’s condition, the investigation came to the conclusion that this constitutes a crime under Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Is the Internet a threat to your privacy?
Information is money. This is the main reason why your personal data is at risk.
Advertisers are after your browsing history - they can profit greatly from this information. Let’s say you type “apartment for rent” or “buy an apartment” into the search bar. By seeing your search history, the advertiser will understand that you are planning to move soon. This is a reason to show you advertisements for cargo taxis, furniture, building materials stores and insurance companies.
This is completely legal. However, scammers can also make money from your data. Credit card data is openly traded on the dark web, so for a cybercriminal to gain access to an airline's reservation system or an online store's customer base is a great success.
Attackers can use any information that you post online, which is why it is important to monitor the security of your personal data. Let's look at why online privacy is so important and how you can protect your personal data.
Forms of threats
Threats can be verbal
, in personal communication, if someone really heard them and can confirm it.
Written
threats: in correspondence, via SMS messages, instant messengers and chats on the Internet. In particular, correspondence may be accompanied by threatening sounds. That is, if a person voiced a threat, for example, with murder and then accompanied it with the sounds of a gunshot or screams, then this will be considered a threat to kill.
If there were just shots and screams, but there was no threat of murder or serious harm to health, it was not expressed or written, then there is no corpus delicti.
Gestures also matter
, that is, when a person, either in the process of communication or in a video message via Skype or instant messengers, shows a gesture that means a threat to kill, under certain circumstances. If it is also accompanied by a threat, expressed or written, then this will fall under criminal liability under Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
What to do in case of telephone threats
If you are threatened over the phone, you must record the call. Most often, telephone threats come from collection agencies that influence a debtor who has not paid the loan debt in a timely manner and in full. Such threats are very dangerous. There are numerous real cases where debt collectors deliberately destroyed property or caused physical violence.
Important point
Even if you completely repay your bank debt, debt collectors will not stop calling you with threats. To do this you will need to file a police report. This is a direct threat to health, since the criminal is not nearby. You need to record the conversation, carefully think through the situation, sign up for a consultation with a lawyer, or contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs directly.
Immediately after the call, contact the law enforcement agency. You will need to record repeated calls and threats as evidence in filing a criminal case. The conversation must be recorded, after which the complaint will be submitted to the police. The search for intruders will happen much faster. However, the evidence will require an examination.
Written threats
In the case of written threats sent in the form of letters by mail, notes planted or handed over with threats, if you contact the police, the document will be sent to specialists for examination. After a thorough check, they will identify traces of the criminal, take fingerprints and conduct a handwriting examination.
Identification of attackers will be faster thanks to modern technical equipment, since any document contains traces. A written document with threats will be added to the materials of the criminal case after an examination as evidence.
Thus, if you or your loved ones are threatened, you should definitely contact law enforcement.
If the thoughts and intentions of the criminal are confirmed, they will be prosecuted. You cannot follow the lead of criminals and strictly fulfill their sometimes absurd demands, and even more so, respond with violent actions in response. Otherwise, you will become the culprit, and the offender will once again feel his permissiveness and impunity. Please note that I do not provide free consultations. The article reveals a lot of points and nuances that can help you. If you need additional help or still have questions, this is a paid service. Please be understanding .
Antsupov Dmitry, Lawyer
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The essence of the threats
When an attacker threatens to simply kill a person, everything is clear. Things are a little more complicated with threats of physical violence. From the point of view of the criminal code, these are serious injuries, harm that entails irreversible consequences for a person.
The most common serious consequences are loss of vision and hearing (the notorious “I blinked”); loss of motor activity (I’ll break my legs), mental disorders (I’ll be sent to a mental hospital), loss of organs or their loss (I’ll tear off my head, I’ll tear off my arms), disfigurement of the body or face. The most egregious thing you can encounter is forced termination of pregnancy.
What to do
If you become a target of threats on the Internet, then you definitely need to take a screenshot of the screen and print it. Then you must definitely go to a notary and draw up an act of inspecting the pages of correspondence, if this happened on the Internet. The fact is that if the attacker suddenly realizes that he got carried away, he will begin to erase it all - this also happens.
If threats were received in a general chat where you were not alone, then you definitely need to collect data from witnesses who can then confirm that such a fact happened.
After collecting evidence, you can safely go to the police and write a statement in which you must indicate witnesses and attach a saved screenshot, or even better, the notary’s inspection reports. If threats were made more than once, be sure to record this as well.
Situations that take place in a person’s life
Not everyone can say what to do if they threaten to kill you, because not everyone has dealt with similar situations. A professional lawyer can provide detailed advice on this issue. Usually, when a person has to fear for his life, he is also overcome by fear associated with fear for the life of his family and friends. The main rule is not to give in to emotions, but to maintain a sound mind. You should try to keep your cool, this will help you make the right decision about what to do next.
So, what should you do if you receive death threats using various means of communication? Here you need to try to capture everything as much as possible. It would be better to record the telephone conversation; you will also need to contact the operator to obtain a statement of calls received to your number. Then you take all the available materials and go to the police, where you make an official statement. Take care of a lawyer in advance; he will ensure that law enforcement officers do not violate the law during the investigation and decision-making process.
What to do if they threaten to kill you right to your face? First, don’t hesitate, don’t panic, second, try to catch on to any detail in the offender’s appearance, you must remember it so that you can describe it in detail later. If threats are repeated repeatedly, on the eve of the next incident, make sure you have a recording device with you. If you have an audio or video file, you will have a better chance of filing a criminal case.
If you don't know what to do if someone threatens to kill you, don't try to act directly or be aggressive. It’s better to give up a little first in order to gain time to find optimal solutions.
Attention! In order for an audio or video recording to have legal force, you must warn your opponent before starting it. There is no need to directly indicate the source of the recording; present the information generally. Just tell him that your conversation with him is being recorded.
Liability under Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
If these were simply threats made for the first time, then the punishment can be imposed by the court up to two years in prison.
However, if these threats were made for political, ideological, national, racial reasons, with the aim of inciting national hatred, as well as against individuals and their loved ones, in connection with the implementation of their official activities by these individuals, then this is already up to 5 years of imprisonment.
Be very careful about what you write on social networks. As you know, everything that goes on the Internet remains and is stored there. This is both bad and good. Pay close attention to who you communicate with and what about, do not give vent to your anger, this can end very badly.
Procedure
What to do if you are threatened on the Internet: on VK and other sites? If you receive a threat to life or health, you must immediately contact the police with a corresponding statement. Often the police do not show much activity in bringing the culprit to justice and limit themselves to explanatory conversations with him.
Important. Within the framework of the law, the victim can try to achieve justice by all legal means, in particular if the offender was not punished under Art. 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, then you can try to recover compensation from him in court for moral damage caused (Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation or 128.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Algorithm
You need to file a complaint at the police station at your place of registration. There is no uniform standard for the application, but there are some requirements for its content. An approximate sample application can be obtained from the local police officer or downloaded from our website.
The application must state the situation as fully as possible, attaching supporting documents (screenshot of a message with a threat, etc.)
- After registering the application with the police, a pre-investigation check will begin, following which a decision will be made to initiate a criminal case or to refuse. The applicant has the right to familiarize himself with the decision and inspection materials.
- If a refusal is received, the victim can appeal the refusal decision by writing a corresponding statement addressed to the head of the investigative body, to the prosecutor's office, or by sending a statement of claim to the court. In this case, it is necessary to provide convincing evidence that the victim assesses the likelihood of unlawful actions being committed against him as very high.
Legal settlement
If the initiation of a criminal case was refused, but fears for life and health remain, the citizen has the right to send a statement of claim to the district court in accordance with the procedure provided for in Chapter 16 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.
The statement of claim must contain:
- the name of the judicial authority where the plaintiff submits the application;
- Full name of the plaintiff and address of his place of residence;
- Full name of the defendant;
- the essence of the appeal is the presence of a threat to life and health;
- a detailed statement of the circumstances under which the threat was received;
- providing evidence confirming the fact of an unlawful act.
If necessary, you can contact specialized legal organizations that will help you competently draw up a statement of claim.
In order to convince the court, you need to provide significant evidence that there is a high probability of committing an illegal act. It is advisable to collect additional arguments to substantiate your concerns:
- testimony of witnesses who can confirm the opponent’s hostile attitude;
- certified screenshots on social networks and/or audio/video/photos and other materials containing the fact of a threat: recordings of telephone calls, SMS messages, letters (including emails), etc.
The state fee for filing a claim will be 300 rubles.
