Are you a victim of blackmail or threats? How to defend yourself?

Chapters of the article

• Extortion and threats – when do they become a crime?
• Criminal offence of dangerous threats
• The offence of blackmail
• What defences are there to threats or blackmail?
• Summary

Extortion and threats – when do they become a criminal offence?

Probably all of us have encountered some kind of threat or even subtle psychological blackmail in our lives. “I’ll break you if you tell him“, “If you don’t go to the movies with me, I won’t help you paint the fence”,“If you post this, you’re dead, buddy”...these are all descriptions of commonly uttered phrases and not characteristics of crimes. But sometimes even sentences like that can turn into something more serious. Where is the line between “common” or shall we say innocent threats and those that are criminal acts? That depends on several key factors. Let’s take a look at them:

• Theintent and seriousness of the threat – for the crime of making dangerous threats, the conceptual element is a clear and serious intent to cause death, grievous bodily harm or other serious harm.
• End consequences and the reality of the threat – at the same time, the second condition must be met, i.e. the threat is made in such a way that it is likely to cause reasonable apprehension. Thus, if a parent tells his child that if he does not clean his room he will “tear himapart like a snake”, then we might indeed perceive potential grievous bodily harm, but no one assumes that the parent will actually commit such an act.

A real and serious threat, however, which speaks of less serious bodily harm (for example, a threat to a neighbour that I would wait for him in the evening and beat him up) may also qualify as one of the offences against civil coexistence regulated by Section 7(1) of the Act on Certain Offences. It is therefore always necessary to take into account not only the seriousness of the intention but also the seriousness of the intended consequences.

Similarly, in the case of extortion, the threshold for the offence is clearly set by the fact that someone is coerced by force, threat of force or threat of other serious harm. Thus, blackmailing someone by not painting a fence can be done with impunity.

The line between ordinary threats (or blackmail) and criminal offences therefore depends on the seriousness, the reality and also, for example, the repetition of the threats, as well as the actual intention to cause harm. If threats and extortion cause considerable fear, physical or psychological harm or are associated with the serious consequences mentioned above, they pass into the realm of a criminal offence.

The offence of making dangerous threats

As mentioned above, threatening under the Criminal Code refers to a situation where the perpetrator threatens another person with death, grievous bodily harm or other serious harm. The threat does not necessarily contain an element of coercion to act, but the threat is aimed directly at causing harm. The Criminal Code classifies them as offences against public order.

Practical example

Our law firm was contacted by Mr Filip, who had a neighbour dispute with Mr David. Mr David was an actor and producer in the porn industry and usually organised filming at his home. As a result, Mr. Filip experienced daily visits from various eccentric persons in his neighborhood and, most importantly, almost endless noise and merriment, with filming being interspersed with after-night and other parties. What at first seemed like an ordinary neighbourly dispute, albeit with a slightly spicy touch, suddenly turned into a criminal act of threatening, surprisingly on the part of the actor David. He was annoyed that Mr Filip complained about him and even called the police a couple of times during the night. In return, he repeatedly threatened him with a firearm. He even went to Mr Filip’s balcony with a pistol, where he used a loaded weapon to swing at him outside the window, taunting him, threatening to shoot him, and even Mr Filip’s children, who were watching, did not stop him.

Mr Filip knew that this was a criminal offence, but he wanted to be sure that the police would actually deal with his neighbour’s behaviour and take decisive action, so he asked us to help him file a criminal complaint. The whole case eventually ended in a suspended prison sentence for Mr David. Fortunately, his actions were also unacceptable to his landlord and Mr David moved out of the property.

Thebasic facts are regulated in the provisions of Section 353(1) and include: threatening to kill, to cause bodily harm or to cause substantial damage to property. It may be punishable by imprisonment for 6 months to 3 years.

Paragraph 2 of the same provision refers to the use of a weapon by the perpetrator, or the perpetrator’s act against a child, a pregnant woman, a witness, an expert or an interpreter in connection with the performance of their duties, or against a health care worker in the course of his or her medical employment. In such a case, the perpetrator may be imprisoned for up to three years. The offence is similarly viewed if the perpetrator is a member of an organised group.

A related offence is violence against a group of residents or against an individual, the basic facts of which state that if the perpetrator threatens a group of residents with death, bodily harm or damage on a large scale, he or she will be punished by imprisonment for up to one year. This offence differs primarily in its object, which is a group of residents.

The offence of extortion

Extortion consists in the perpetrator forcing another person to do, omit or suffer something by means of violence, threat of violence or other serious harm. Extortion involves an element of coercion and a direct threat to compel the victim to act against his or her will.

In its basic form, the offender faces a prison sentence of 6 months to 4 years. The qualifying offence (i.e. the more serious form of this offence) carries a prison sentence of between two and eight years, provided that the perpetrator

• commits the offence as a member of an organised group,
• commits such an act with at least two persons,
• commits such an act with a weapon,
• causes substantial damage by such an act,
• commits such an offence against a pregnant woman,
• commits such an act against a witness, expert or interpreter in the course of the performance of his or her duty, or
• commits such an act against another because of his or her actual or perceived race, ethnic group, nationality, political opinion, religion or because he or she is actually or perceived to be without religion.

Other aggravating circumstances that this provision of the Criminal Code remembers are the infliction of grievous bodily harm, damage on a large scale, or death. In such a case, a longer sentence again follows, up to 16 years in the case of the victim’s death.

On the other hand, extortion is not possible where the threat of other serious harm is carried out in full compliance with the law (e.g. a creditor warns a debtor that he will sue him if the debt is not paid by a certain date).

Example from practice

The public was recently shocked by a well-publicised case of a father who had been raping his underage daughter for several years. As a result of his actions, she suffered severe psychological damage, depression and attempted suicide several times. At some point in time, the perpetrator’s actions were recorded. He subsequently used the recording (and the threat of its publication) to further coerce sex on the minor. In this case, however, from the point of view of legal theory, if the offender’s act fulfils the elements of the offence of rape, which is special in relation to the offence of extortion, then it must be classified as the offence of rape. In this case also, the offender got off with probation, which was clearly disproportionate given the gravity and circumstances of the conduct. This was subsequently held by the Supreme Court. However, its judgment could no longer affect the sentence imposed.

What defence is there to threats or blackmail?

If you have been the victim of one of the crimes described, then the best defence is to report the incident to the police immediately , which should be preceded by thorough documentation of all threats and evidence.

The well-intentioned advice to victims not to succumb to pressure or take any action that the perpetrators ask them to take depends, of course, on the circumstances of the case. Sometimes, on the other hand, it is better not to play the hero, to comply with what the perpetrator demands and thereby save your health or life.

It is always worth not relying solely on the police, but also seeking legal assistance, which in such difficult situations can also provide some psychological support. It is also advisable to seek psychological help for such serious crimes, as failure to deal with the situation can lead to the development of much more serious psychological problems.

Summary

Both types of behaviour described above are criminal offences under the Criminal Code. The penalties may vary depending on the severity and circumstances of the particular case. Extortion is generally considered to be a more serious offence than threatening because of its coercive nature and its direct pressure on the victim to act against his or her will.