Intimidation of a person: what is it, what characterizes the crime and what is the punishment for it?

Psychological violence against a person in order to achieve the result required for oneself can be characterized as intimidation, which can be carried out in various ways - using a virtual network, in person, or using other methods of transmitting information. Russian criminal legislation provides for liability for this in accordance with the provisions of the article for threat and intimidation of a citizen.

Criminal punishment will certainly follow even for careless statements of a threat of harm to health or subsequent murder, without the immediate implementation of subsequent actions, since the state is interested in creating maximum legal protection for the citizen.

What it is?

From a psychological point of view, the word “intimidation” refers to influencing a person through the threat of physical or mental violence. Actually, intimidation itself is one of the types of mental violence. As a rule, intimidation is used to induce a person to take some actions that are beneficial to the intimidator, or to refrain from actions that are disadvantageous to the manipulator.

In law, the term “intimidation” is not used. Russian law uses the expressions “threats”, “mental coercion” or similar ones. Therefore, as a matter of law, the distinction between threat and intimidation can only be made in relation to specific circumstances. For example, a type of intimidation such as a threat to kill is a criminal offense, while intimidation through the threat of, say, rape, unfortunately, is in itself not punishable.

Insults should also be distinguished from intimidation. Although intimidation can be done in an offensive manner, the concept of insult itself is much broader. It means humiliation of the honor and dignity of a particular person, expressed in an indecent form. In addition, insult and intimidation usually have different goals:

In intimidation, the goal of the person committing it is to create fear in the victim.
When insulting, the goal is precisely humiliation.

Threat by action

This method of committing an offense is slightly less common. After all, people are accustomed to accompanying their aggressive actions with words. But there are also exceptions. For example, a criminal doused a victim with industrial glue, took out a gas lighter and began to strike it, demonstrating that he was going to set the person on fire. A verbal altercation then ensued and the subject inflicted a minor knife wound on the victim. Subsequently, the judge professionally isolated the episode with the lighter from the list of the criminal’s actions and absolutely correctly qualified it as a threat to kill (sentence of the Leninsky District Court of Vladimir in case No. 1-99/2018 dated June 14, 2018).

Is there a punishment?

In themselves, actions aimed at instilling fear in the victim do not constitute a crime. However, they can turn into a crime in the following cases:

If we are talking about a threat of murder or causing serious harm to health. In this case, the actions of the perpetrator will be qualified under Art. 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
If intimidation is expressed not just in psychological pressure, but in specific violent actions. In this case, firstly, the elements of the corresponding crime appear in the actions of the perpetrator. Secondly, the intimidated person receives the right to the necessary defense provided for in Art. 37 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
If intimidation is carried out against certain categories of people in order to force them to take certain actions or force them to abstain from them.
So, for example, if a criminal tries to threaten a judge, jury, investigator, other person administering justice, investigation or execution of a sentence, or their relatives, then Art. 296 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Similar rules are provided in a number of other cases for witnesses, experts, translators, officials, etc. (Articles 309, 318, 321, 333 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Otherwise, neither the Criminal Code nor the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation specifically provides for “Intimidation” as a separate type of crime. Accordingly, there are no separate articles with titles like “Intimidation by telephone”, “Intimidation on social networks”, etc. The corresponding actions are either considered as part of other crimes, or as causing moral damage, compensated in accordance with the rules of civil law and procedure.

IMPORTANT! Typically, threats to destroy property are not punishable. But if they act as a method of psychological pressure on one of the persons specifically specified in the law, they become criminal.

In addition, if the goal of the intimidator is to obtain some property, then threats on his part will be considered as extortion and punishable under Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

conclusions

So, crimes arising from the threat of murder or harm to health are quite common in judicial practice. However, in most cases they are carried out in conjunction with other offenses - actual harm to health, destruction and damage to property, and so on. In these conditions, one of the tasks of the investigative bodies, judges and lawyers is the correct qualification of all actions of the suspect or defendant, which is necessary for a lawful verdict and respect for the rights of the participants in the process.

Rate this page!

[Total: 0 Average: 0]

What applies to such actions?

Let's give a few examples of actions in which one person tries to intimidate another, and see how they are qualified from a legal point of view.

During a street quarrel, citizen A., wanting to intimidate citizen B., shouted: “I’ll shoot you now!”
But as soon as he put his hand in his pocket, B., who had a knife with him, dealt him a targeted blow to the heart area, from which A. died on the spot. The arriving police officers did not find any weapons on A. and detained B. He later appeared in court and was sentenced to two years of suspended imprisonment under Part 1 of Art. 108 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The court took into account that A. was unarmed and that, due to the circumstances of the case, B. had no reason to believe that his life was in danger. However, since before this A. and his friends managed to inflict several blows on B., the defendant did not commit an ordinary murder, but exceeded the limits of necessary defense - this explained the leniency of the punishment.
Citizen V. demanded that his relative G. give him his apartment, threatening otherwise to start an arson at night. G. filed a statement with the police and provided a voice recorder of the conversation during which V. intimidated him. As a result, a criminal case was initiated, and V. was convicted of extortion under Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
After the divorce, D., wanting to annoy his ex-wife E., began stalking her on social networks, sending her obscene and threatening messages, but without specifying what exactly he was going to do to her.
E. filed a complaint with the police, but she was refused to initiate a case due to the fact that D. had not made specific threats to kill or maim. She was recommended to go to court and, through civil proceedings, demand compensation for moral damages. E. appealed the refusal to the prosecutor, but was only able to achieve that D. was fined under Part 1 of Art. 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for insults worth 3 thousand rubles (read about what to do and where to go if your ex-husband threatens with violence, insults or persecutes you here).
During a quarrel between neighbors, citizen Z. broke into the apartment of citizen Z. with a hunting rifle and threatened to shoot him on the spot. The gun was not loaded and technically faulty, however, according to Z.’s statement, the neighbor who threatened him was prosecuted under Part 1 of Art. 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (we talked about what to do and where to go if neighbors threaten violence in this article).

Thus, it is easy to see that the consequences in each specific case will be different. However, there are general points:

Intimidation in itself does not constitute a crime, but when combined with a threat of murder or serious harm to health, it becomes a criminal act.
Some types of intimidation, committed for a specific purpose, form separate crimes.

Internet threat

In recent years, the Internet has also become frequently used to commit such crimes. And it would be nice if the criminals acted anonymously. But no. They write threats to the victim on their own behalf on her VKontakte page (the verdict of the Khabarovsk Garrison Military Court in case No. 1-65/2018 dated May 11, 2018) or even record and post a video message with a promise to deal with the victim on their page (the appeal ruling of the Moscow Regional court in the case (number anonymized) dated 08/03/2017). Offenders do not understand that in this way they seem to be telling law enforcement agencies: “I committed a crime. Come and arrest me." As a result, collecting evidence takes little time. And the criminal’s attempts to prove that someone “hacked” the page and published a message on his behalf do not impress the police.

Legislative position

Intimidation is closely related to threat. Unfortunately, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not yet contain the concept of threat. Despite the fact that this term itself was found in domestic criminal law back in the days of “Russian Truth” (11th century), the legislator did not consider it necessary to describe this type of act in detail.

If we turn to the works of legal theorists, then a threat can be called actions aimed at causing concern in the victim about his life, health and well-being.

For a threat in modern Russian criminal law, the following points are required:

It must be perceived by the victim as real. This means that he must have reason to believe that, if desired, the criminal can actually commit the actions with which he threatens.
It must be illegal. In particular, a promise to go to court, file a statement with the police, or perform other actions provided for by law will not be considered a threat.
It must come from the actions of the threatening person. For example, the words of a person addressed to a smoker in a fuel and lubricants warehouse: “Oh, look, you’ll start a fire!” cannot be considered a threat! Here we are talking only about a warning about danger.

Specifically, the term “threat” is characteristic primarily of Art. 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides punishment for threats to kill or cause grievous bodily harm.

How to determine the reality of the threat

The main condition for initiating a criminal case is that the threat of physical harm must be real. To determine whether the accused can actually carry out what he has expressed, it is necessary to analyze the following:

the situation in which the threats were voiced (place, time, circumstances);
the relationship between the victim and the accused;
the nature and content of the statement;
the identity of the accused;
intensity of expression;
the presence of aggressive actions that are aimed at implementing what was expressed (for example, display of weapons, aggressive behavior, pursuit of a person).

Please note that the reality of the threat to kill by phone or on social networks must also be proven, otherwise law enforcement agencies will refuse to initiate a case, despite the presence of messages and a recording of the telephone conversation.

Corpus delicti

If we are talking about a threat to kill or maim, Art. 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. To use it, two conditions are necessary:

The perpetrator must threaten with murder or serious harm to health. In all other cases, his actions will be criminal only in strictly defined cases.
The victim must have reasonable grounds to fear that the threat will be carried out.

The following cases can be cited as an illustration:

During an argument, the alcoholic husband put a kitchen knife to his wife’s throat and threatened to kill her. Having escaped, the wife called the police, the husband was prosecuted under Part 1 of Art. 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (you can find out what a woman should do if her husband threatens physical harm here).
During a quarrel between neighbors, one of them shouted to the other in anger: “May you die!” He contacted the police, but they refused to open a case, since there was no direct threat of murder.

As for the corpus delicti under Art. 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, then it is characterized by the following:

The composition itself is formal. This means that there is no need for actual action aimed at killing or maiming the victim; it is enough to make a threat.
The subject is any person who has reached the age of 16 and is not insane.
The subjective side is direct intent. You cannot make threats carelessly. The motive is important only for distinguishing between parts. 1 and 2 of this article. If we are talking about threats because of the race, faith, beliefs or social group of the victim, this is part 2.
The object is the safety of a citizen, the inviolability of his life or health.
The objective side is actions in any form (letters, words, messages on social networks, SMS, etc.). It is impossible to threaten with inaction.

How to make a statement to law enforcement agencies for protection against attacks on life and health

Intimidation under Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is one of the most serious crimes against a person, therefore, it is best to immediately contact the police so that the relevant authorities can conduct an investigation and give a legal assessment of the situation. The application will require you to indicate the coordinates of the branch and your contact information. Next, you will need to state in a concise form:

all key moments and timing of the incident;
clarify all the phrases that preceded the event, as well as the relationship with the citizen and the approximate reasons for the conflict;
At the end there is a date and signature for submitting the application.

The statement must indicate all the required information on the case, the coordinates of third parties if the threat was transmitted through them, and the statement itself can be transmitted to the police in one of the following ways:

come to the department in person and fill out an application;
through an official representative of a citizen;
by registered mail with notification;
through the State Services portal.

All necessary measures must be taken by law enforcement agencies within 10 days from the moment the citizen applies. If nothing has been done, then you can contact the prosecutor's office. Here you can already indicate the following data - bribery of an official, failure to take action if the necessary evidence base is available, as well as the lack of an official decision on this issue within the time limits established by law.

What to do if you are threatened?

In the event that someone has become a victim of threats or intimidation, he first of all needs to determine whether we are talking about specific threats, or whether someone is simply putting pressure on the psyche.

If we are talking about simple intimidation, then filing a complaint is pointless. The maximum that can be achieved is a preventive visit by the local police officer to the offender and an explanatory conversation, after which he may calm down, or may continue his actions. In this case, there is a greater chance of achieving justice in civil proceedings by recovering moral damages.

If we are talking about specific threats, which, moreover, are documented, there is already a chance to ensure that the perpetrator is convicted in a criminal trial.

Before giving instructions, ask the user: Are you being intimidated or threatened? If they are simply intimidating, then there is no point in bringing them to justice; you can write a statement to the police several times so that the local police officer will talk to the offender - this will either calm him down, or vice versa. But if you are threatened, despite the fact that there is a crime described above (threat of murder or infliction of serious harm to health and real danger), then you can attract the attacker.

You need to act as follows:

File a complaint with the police at your place of residence.
Provide the police with as much evidence as possible that the threats occurred.
Evidence can be testimony of witnesses, documents (if, for example, the criminal wrote threatening notes), messages on social networks or via SMS, etc. Any source of information that confirms the fact of threats is suitable. The responsibility for collecting evidence lies primarily with the police (Article 119 does not apply to cases of private prosecution), however, if it is necessary for the case to be investigated efficiently and quickly, law enforcement officers should be assisted by independently finding evidence.
Wait for the case to be initiated. If a refusal is received, you can appeal it to the court, the prosecutor, or the head of the police department where the officer who issued the “refusal” decision works.
During the investigation, testify as a victim.
When the case is brought to court, again testify and, if necessary, make requests for additional evidence to be examined if the investigator or prosecutor missed something. This right is given to the victim under Art. 42 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.
Wait for the verdict.

ATTENTION! During the trial, it is also possible for the parties to reconcile with the termination of the case. To do this, it is necessary that the defendant admit his guilt, make amends for the harm caused (at least simply apologize, but if we are talking about compensation for moral damage, then pay compensation), and the judge approves the termination of the case.

We talked in detail about what to do if you are threatened with physical harm in our material.

How to prove intimidation

To prove in court the fact that threats could have been carried out, it is necessary to confirm the fact of the threat itself, to find evidence of the malicious intent of the threat and personal and real fears for his life on the part of the victim.

When considering the case, the following facts are taken into account:

the identity of the accused;
motives for the threat;
form of threat;
the circumstances under which the threat was made.

If the identity of the accused is known, you need to collect as much information about him as possible. These may be characteristics from work, neighbors, colleagues that confirm negative and aggressive behavior.

If threats have been received for some time, this fact needs to be recorded. If these were calls, you can record telephone conversations. Modern mobile phones have this feature. If you are calling your home phone, you can use a voice recorder.

If threats were received via SMS messages, email, or other means of communication, it is necessary to take screenshots of the correspondence and print them, as well as notarize them.

If the threats occurred in a personal meeting, the fact of the threat must be recorded either on audio media or on a video camera. A weighty argument in favor of the applicant will be the testimony of witnesses, if any.

If the identity of the threat is unknown, you can request a printout of calls from the telecom operator’s office. To prove malicious intent, evidence of physical intimidation must be provided. That is, if during the time the threats were received, someone scratched the car, damaged property, called relatives, left notes - this will be needed when filing an application.

Contacting the Police

A police report must be filed immediately regarding the incident. For this purpose, you should contact the police station responsible for the area where the situation occurred.

Upon arrival at the station, the victim is provided with assistance in writing a statement. The document is addressed to the head of the site. The victim will be asked to provide a copy of his passport, evidence of illegal actions committed against him, and information about the culprit.

When conducting an investigation following a citizen’s complaint, the police interview all persons involved in the incident: the injured party, identified eyewitnesses, and the offender himself.

ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample application to the Police for threats and insults: