Each of us has had to deal with insults more than once in our lives. This is a deep psychological and sociological problem of humanity. People sometimes categorically refuse to behave with dignity, and as a result, others suffer from their offensive attacks. In such situations, some respond to the offenders in their own manner of communication, while others try not to react.
But there is another option - to bring the offender to justice, based on current legislative norms. So, today we will talk about insult to personality, its proof without witnesses and with them, we will also consider the rules for drawing up a statement of insult to honor and dignity, and we will not fail to talk about other important nuances.
How to prove an offense?
This is a very important question. After all, without evidence, the matter simply will not come to punishment. And we'll start by discussing how to prove insult over the phone.
By phone
- Ideally, there will be a witness on each side - the offender and his victim. Or at least there will be an additional listener standing next to the offended person. Witness testimony is an excellent method of proof. The main thing is that witnesses are ready to speak in court.
- Another option is to make a voice recorder. Some phone models have built-in resources for this. If you don’t have any, a voice recorder with good sensitivity will do.
However, there are some subtleties here. Before starting the recording, it is advisable to have time to say the date of the conversation, the name of the interlocutor, and also convince him to identify himself (for subsequent identification).
To present it to the court, you need to prepare a transcript in advance - an accurate verbal recording of the entire conversation. In addition, the court may order an examination of the recording.
We will tell you below how to prove insult if there are no witnesses.
Insults on the Internet are no less common. How to prove them, see the video below:
No witnesses
What to do and how to prove personal insult without witnesses? All that remains is the previous option with a voice recorder.
Legal practitioners recommend that in order to protect yourself from possible insults during a one-on-one conversation, it is advisable to always carry a voice recorder with you. The interlocutor, warned about such a step, may himself refrain from committing crimes.
Other options
Anonymous notes in a mailbox, personal Internet messages from a user with some cartoon or non-human name, and similar cases usually turn out to be hopeless. It is still too difficult to identify the offenders in such situations.
- The easiest way is if the incident occurred in personal communication in the presence of a large number of people. Among them there are sometimes not only witnesses, but also volunteer “operators” who made a video recording of what happened.
- Another option: the insult was contained in the video, the media, and so on. In this case, the work, note or article itself becomes evidence.
An important point: the insult must not only be humiliating to the dignity and/or honor of the addressee. Only an indecent form of expression by the offender of his position can truly be considered an insult.
In general, each case of insult requires an individual approach. Strategies for bringing the offender to justice can be very different.
Where to contact?
If there is evidence of abuse, it’s time to decide: where to go? There are several ways to defend what is right. For example, you want to submit a sample statement for insulting neighbors or other individuals. Then go to the local police officer, the prosecutor's office, or even straight to court.
Police and local police officer
Each district police officer is required to receive citizens at the police station on designated days and hours. If you know the current schedule, you can come to the conversation, explain the situation, write a statement and an explanation. Witnesses can do the same.
If it is not possible to visit a local police officer, then a statement against a person for insulting a person can be filed at the police department, preferably at the place of residence. It will be accepted and then sent to the same district police officer.
A sample statement from a district police officer regarding personal insult can be downloaded here.
Statement to the police regarding insult (sample)
Prosecutor's office
Article 28.4 of the Administrative Code specifies: the initiation of administrative proceedings under Article 5.61 is the area of responsibility of the prosecutor. Lawyers often advise filing an application directly with the prosecutor’s office (download here).
Sample application to the prosecutor's office about personal insult
Sample application to the prosecutor's office about personal insult - 1
Sample application to the prosecutor's office about personal insult - 2
Now let's talk about how to prove insult to personality in court.
Court
Lawsuits solely for insult are rare. Typically, statements also contain indications of moral damage caused and a demand for compensation.
For example, when one Internet interlocutor equated another with women of easy virtue, the court upheld a similar claim. Amount – 50 thousand rubles.
Applications for the protection of honor and dignity can be submitted to the court here.
Sample application for protection of honor and dignity to court
Sample application for protection of honor and dignity to court - 1
Sample application for protection of honor and dignity to court - 2
How to write a statement correctly
If a citizen has evidence of offensive statements or rude actions, material damage is confirmed, the amount of compensation for moral suffering is established, and witnesses to the incident are found, then a statement can be made to law enforcement agencies about moral or physical insult.
There is no prescribed form for filing such a complaint. It is compiled arbitrarily, with references to legislative acts.
In practice, the structure of the document and the basic requirements for it have developed:
The form indicates all the facts of the offense.
- The application is written in 2 copies. The first is handed over to the law enforcement agency, the second, with an official mark on the date of acceptance of the document, remains with the applicant. It serves as confirmation of the filing of the complaint. If the application is sent through an electronic reception, you should make sure that the application is assigned an incoming number.
- The applicant’s personal data (last name, first name, patronymic, home address, telephone numbers) are indicated completely and without errors. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the prosecutor’s office employee working with the complaint to contact the victim to clarify the situation or obtain additional information. In addition, the prosecutor has the right not to deal with an appeal in which there is no information about the applicant.
- It is recommended to present all the facts of illegal actions in the descriptive part. The more detailed the insults are, the more likely it is that the necessary decision will be made promptly. But thoughts should be expressed clearly, without vague phrases and emotional words. The prosecutor may return an application that is difficult to read and understand without consideration.
- The evidence base is provided in full, indicating the contact details of witnesses to the conflict. This will allow officials to question them on the circumstances of the case.
- Information about the offender is provided to the maximum extent possible. For example, if there is only information about the name of his place of work, then it is advisable to find out the address and telephone numbers of the enterprise. This is necessary so that those involved in the inspection can find the citizen and interview him about what happened.
- The location of the conflict must be indicated precisely. In this case, the application will not be sent between district departments, but will immediately go for consideration to the prosecutor’s office of the corresponding territory.
- The intention to recover moral or material damage and the amount of the claim are indicated directly in the application. Compensation can be received if, for example, the victim suffered losses due to a failed deal or his health condition worsened.
If there are several victims of insults, then it is better to write a collective statement on behalf of all the offended people. In this case, there is a greater chance of bringing the citizen to administrative responsibility.
Document structure and sample
The basic requirements for the structure of the application are the same as for any documents submitted to state executive bodies.
It must contain an introductory part, a main block, a list of applications and the signature of the applicant.
The introductory part states:
- name of the law enforcement agency to which the appeal is submitted;
- last name, first name, patronymic of the applicant in the genitive case, his residential address, telephone number.
The main block begins with the word “statement” in the middle of the line and contains an arbitrary statement of the situation with a description of the nuances:
- there were single, repeated or constant insults;
- date and time of the offense;
- presence and full names of witnesses;
- Full name, contact details of the offender;
- a detailed listing of negative statements and actions.
If swear words are difficult to write, you can indicate that they were obscene.
The block ends with a request to bring the offender to administrative responsibility with reference to Art. 5.61 Code of Administrative Offences. It is permissible to begin the main part of the complaint with this request.
The list of attachments lists the evidence of conflict available in the appeal. At the end, the date, personal signature of the victim and a transcript of this signature are affixed.
A sample application is given below.
If there are witnesses to the conflict, their personal information should be provided.
Additionally, you can ask to check the stated unpleasant facts regarding the legality of the actions committed by the offender.
As an example, a situation on a social network will suit: a woman’s ex-husband’s friend regularly sends threatening messages, uses obscene language towards her, and threatens to post intimate photographs taken during their time together online.
In this case, in addition to insults, there is a threat to life and health, the dissemination of personal data without the consent of its owner, and a violation of privacy.
Deadlines for submission and review
An application with the necessary evidence is submitted within 10 days from the day the illegal act occurred.
Citizens have the right to contact the police department at the place of residence of the offender or the conflict immediately after the unpleasant incident. Police officers are obliged to accept the offended person and record what happened in his words. Information about the guilty person is indicated based on the information available to the applicant.
Depending on the completeness of the evidence and the information provided, the case of an administrative offense is initiated on the day the application is received or within 2 days. If it is necessary to conduct a thorough investigation of the situation, the period increases to 2 months.
The applicant is officially notified of the change in the deadline for consideration of his application and of all stages of the case.
Statement of personal insult
An application must be made to initiate any proceedings. Let's consider this issue in more detail.
Differences from similar documents
Insulting a person is a very outdated formulation; it was not even contained in the now repealed criminal article 130. The phrase “insult to honor and dignity” is also not used by professional lawyers.
The current article 5.61 deals with insult. The interpretation of the term is humiliation of honor and dignity, which is presented in an obscene form. More detailed explanations on this issue are given separately.
How to compose?
In general, documents of this kind are drawn up at the discretion of the applicant. You must specify:
- the main points of the offense (when, where, under what circumstances);
- who committed the offense;
- what was the insult;
- what specific details of the offense allow us to assert that an insult was committed;
- request for action or satisfaction of specific requirements.
There is no approved form for reporting insult. If writing all kinds of statements is difficult, it is better to contact a practicing lawyer.
Read last about how to prove that a person was provoked to insult.
How to prove that a person was provoked to such actions?
There is no indication in Article 5.61 that provoked insult is not punishable. The competent authorities may or may not take into account the reference to provoking actions of the victim. In such cases, the specific situation and the assistance of a legal practitioner are important.
So far, people in Russia have relatively rarely sought to hold their offenders accountable. The only exceptions are cases of insulting government officials, but this has its own article that deserves special consideration. Time will tell whether positive judicial practice will accumulate in this area.
The following video will tell you about the methods of administrative punishment for those guilty of insult:
How to properly write an appeal to the police, court, prosecutor's office
You should consider this decision carefully before making your application. The main question that needs to be answered is “is there enough evidence to punish the offender?” If you have confidence in your own abilities, you should act like this.
Tips for writing an appeal
You should include information about yourself (about the injured person) in your appeal:
- FULL NAME;
- telephone;
- residential address;
- passport details.
Important!
The telephone number must be indicated so that law enforcement agencies can easily contact the applicant to clarify information. You should describe what happened as carefully as possible, but clearly and without emotion. There must be a description of the actual insults, a list of characters, witnesses, and so on. The location of the incident must be indicated, preferably the exact address.
One statement without evidence cannot lead to proper consideration by human rights defenders. Therefore, it should be accompanied by information about witnesses, photographs, audio and video recordings, printouts of Internet pages or SMS.
Attention! Applications to the prosecutor's office without indicating a return address will not be considered.
Important Rules
Despite the fact that the appeal can be written in a free format, it must comply with the following rules:
- in the upper right corner the name of the body is written, if possible, then information about the official to whom the document is addressed (full name, position);
- “Statement” is written in the middle of the document;
- then the rule of law that was violated by the attacker is indicated;
- What follows are the detailed circumstances of what happened;
- the next point is evidence;
- date and signature of the applicant.
Important! If law enforcement agencies have the opportunity to obtain additional evidence (for example, recordings from external surveillance cameras), this should be noted in the appeal.
