Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Threat of murder or infliction of grievous bodily harm” consists of 2 parts. The first part is a crime of minor gravity, the second part is a crime of medium gravity. This is good, since the Criminal Code allows you to legally bypass criminal liability for these crimes. But don't think that everything will be simple.
It is important to know: in practice, everything is completely different from what it is on paper. Even if this paper is the Criminal Code. Investigators sometimes make their work easier by ignoring the inconvenient rules of the Criminal Procedure Code (for example, they do not notify the suspect or accused in a timely manner about the appointment of an examination). At any moment, some complexity, nuance, or unforeseen situation may arise that will change the entire perspective of the matter and put a spoke in the wheels. An experienced criminal lawyer is needed to ensure that there are no surprises or unpleasant surprises in your case.
Some interesting examples from practice
Example 1.
Citizen N, being drunk, approached citizen A. on the street late at night, with whom he was unfamiliar. He pointed a gun at her and demanded that A. come with him. If she refuses, he will shoot her, N threatened. During the investigation, it turned out that the pistol, firstly, was a gas pistol, and secondly, it was faulty. Consequently, even if N. wanted to, N. could not have shot A. However, she perceived the threat as completely real, so N.’s actions were qualified under Part 1 of Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Threat of murder or infliction of grievous bodily harm.”
Example 2: This is kind of a funny example.
Complicated Sh. wrote a letter to the head of the colony in which he was imprisoned. In the letter, Sh. threatened to kill him, the boss. He perceived the threat as real, especially since there were witnesses with whom Sh. discussed the alleged murder and described methods of future murder. A kitchen knife was found in Sh.'s bedside table. The court qualified the act under Part 1 of Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Threat of murder or infliction of 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.
Why do you need a lawyer under Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation or how to legally evade liability
The best opportunity to avoid criminal liability under Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Threat of murder or infliction of grievous bodily harm” is to make peace with the victim. This opportunity is provided by Article 76 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
In order for the court to exempt from criminal liability, it is necessary, first of all, to make peace with the victim and make amends for the harm caused to him. This usually means compensation for moral damage. It also requires that the crime be committed for the first time.
It is important to know: the victim, who was clearly made very worried by the threat of murder, can name any amount of moral damage. One of the tasks of a criminal lawyer is to reduce this amount to an acceptable, minimum amount.
But the functions of a lawyer are not limited to this. A criminal lawyer is a defense attorney. The main goal of a lawyer is to ensure that the defendant does not receive punishment or that the punishment is minimal. To this end, our lawyers:
- quickly respond to illegal actions of investigators;
- are present at interrogations, confrontations, searches and do not allow investigators to violate your rights. Violation of these rights may ultimately lead to a real sentence;
- seeks an examination from an independent expert, and not from a departmental one;
- negotiate with the victim in order to make peace and reduce the amount of compensation for moral damage;
- foresee in advance which path the investigation may take and choose the best defense tactics;
- represent you in court.
It's important to know: there's more to come. In addition to legal services, a criminal lawyer also provides you with moral support. You can always ask something, clarify something, get advice. This will give you confidence. And confidence is half the victory.
How to prove a threat
Proving the risk of causing grievous bodily harm is quite difficult. The victim must provide law enforcement agencies with significant evidence to open a criminal case:
- if the threat of death was voiced personally to the victim: it is necessary to provide detailed information about all witnesses to the incident, including the need to provide information about indirect witnesses who did not see but could hear what was happening (for example, someone was in the next room or in the next office ).
- if telephone scammers resort to death threats, or threats were received during a conversation on a mobile phone, it is necessary to provide a recording of the conversation, as well as witnesses who were present during the conversation.
- In cases where threats are sent via email, social networks or SMS messages, you must provide all screenshots to law enforcement agencies.
In addition to proving the fact of the threat, you also need to provide evidence of the reality of the threat to kill and the motive of the accused. For example, these may be characteristics of the accused, witnesses who can confirm the existence of a conflict, a certificate from a doctor confirming the painful and irritable state of the victim due to emotional distress, etc.
To collect significant evidence, we advise you to seek help from a qualified lawyer. He will help prepare all the documents based on the current situation.
Activity
We are talking about deprivation of the opportunity to occupy certain positions, as well as conduct certain activities. In case of death threats for some racial or national reasons, this very measure will be added to the main punishment (imprisonment or forced labor). Not always, but very often. Especially if there were some aggravating circumstances during the crime committed.
You can be deprived of the opportunity to hold certain positions and conduct some kind of activity (certain, it will be appointed by the court) for a maximum of 3 years. Many believe that in practice such punishments rarely occur. Actually this is not true. And if we are talking about some high-ranking person, he may be forever subject to a “taboo” from participating in economic and political activities, as well as holding high positions. Regardless of the nature of the activity. Don't be a leader anymore - that's all. It is usually futile to challenge a decision made in a death threat case.
When to use
What is a threat anyway? After all, you need to clearly understand what you will be punished for in the event of a trial and investigation. The thing is that this term refers to statements addressed to any person that carry some kind of subconscious danger or a direct indication of physical violence. Such statements are a death threat.
That is, you can simply say: “I will kill you” or “I will not give you life, I will take you to your grave,” and for this you will end up in the dock. In this case, as a rule, the victim suffers moral damage. There are several penalties for threatening to kill. And it doesn’t matter whether you just “blurted out” without thinking, or whether there really were reasons to be wary of your words. In any case, the victim can go to court.
Statement to the police
If life and health are threatened, you should immediately contact law enforcement agencies with a statement. This crime is under the jurisdiction of the police department at the scene of the incident.
The application must contain the following information:
- name of the authority to which the application is submitted;
- Full name, position and title of the head of the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
- information about the applicant;
- an incident described in detail in chronological order (indicate the exact date, time, place of the event, and also list the threats);
- information about the accused;
- information about witnesses (if any).
A sample statement to the police about a threat to life and health can be found by clicking on the link.
All available evidence must also be attached to the application.
Deprivation
We are talking about deprivation of liberty in principle. Find yourself in the dock for threatening to kill? Easily! The victim just needs to obtain evidence and go to court. After this, various measures of “education” will be applied to you.
The worst thing that can happen is imprisonment. You can “sit down” for a long time. But on average, without any aggravating circumstances, the offender faces 2 years behind bars. And nothing more. Less - easily. Only such a trend is seen very rarely. Most often, threats of physical violence or causing serious harm to human life and health are subject to severe penalties. In order to prevent a disastrous outcome of events. Thus, the threat of murder (Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is far from the most harmless article of the Criminal Code. Sometimes you can pay quite seriously for your “sharp tongue”. Even if you said something without thinking.
Everybody get to work
“Threat of murder” (Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) provides for several penalties for such statements. It doesn't necessarily mean murder. For this article of the code, the threat of causing grievous harm to human life and health is also acceptable. Punishments will vary. And the first measure that can be applied is different jobs. Compulsory, mandatory or probationary – it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that a death threat (the Criminal Code explains everything in great detail) does not always imply restriction/deprivation of liberty.
Mandatory work in this case reaches 480 hours. However, if you evade such a measure, you can also get forced ones. They are established by the court individually in each individual case. The maximum, as in most cases, can be forced to perform relevant work for 2 years. But, as practice shows, the mandatory option is not such a serious measure that you should evade. It’s better this way than to end up in the dock.
Arrest
The next penalty is arrest. This is also a very popular technique that is constantly used against offenders. Threat of murder (Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is a direct step towards ending up under arrest, and for a long time. Which one specifically?
The exact deadline will be set by the court. But, based on the Criminal Code, we can conclude that the maximum period in this case is 6 months. It turns out that for one threat you can be arrested for six months. Not very nice, is it? But compared to other measures that are used in judicial practice in case of death threats, this is still normal.
Summarizing
What is the end result? If you simply threatened to kill someone, you can get away with compensation for moral damages, a small prison sentence, or arrest for a while with fines. In particularly severe cases, you may even lose the opportunity to engage in specific activities and hold leadership positions.
Please note: fair punishment is not easy to award. It has already been said many times: many factors are taken into account here. Sometimes the measures applied to the culprit can be softened or tightened. In any case, keep in mind: you can get away with a ruble or end up in the dock. It is difficult to predict what exactly the outcome of events will be.
