Threats
Criminal Threats Lawyer
Threats
What are threats in criminal law?
The crime of threats punishes those who threaten another with harm to him, his family, or other people close to him.
The legal rights protected by this crime are freedom of the person and security or the right that everyone has to have peace and personal tranquility in the everyday and orderly development of their lives.
This crime is consummated when the threat becomes known to the threatened person so that the degree of attempt is possible.
Requirements for a threat to be a crime
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Next, we will analyze the requirements for a threat to be consummated since not all threats constitute a crime. The action or fact with which the threat is made must be a crime regulated by the Penal Code. That is to say, the threat must constitute a crime, not necessarily the fact of threatening. Otherwise, it is considered a misdemeanor.
Another important aspect is the accused’s intention. The threat must be intended to cause harm to another. The difficulty in the trial of this crime is its subjectivity; the victim can interpret the threat differently from the intention of the responsible, which is why the existence of evidence or witnesses is so important.
As stated in the jurisprudence, the requirements to consider a crime of threats are the following:
- A serious and honest announcement, through expressions or acts, of an unjust, determined, and possible evil, of more or less imminent realization, which depends exclusively on the will of the active subject and which constitutes one of the crimes indicated in the first paragraph of article 169 of the Penal Code: homicide, injuries, abortion, against freedom, torture and moral integrity, sexual freedom, intimacy, honor, patrimony, and socioeconomic order. It will not be considered a crime of threats if the expressions or acts carried out are ambiguous in their object, imprecise concerning the victim, or when it cannot be deduced with absolute certainty that the defendants were threatening the complainants with an «unjust and determined» evil as required by the jurisprudence.
- It is a crime of simple activity, expression, or danger, not of actual injury, since if this were to occur, it would complement the type.
- The announcement of evil on the author’s part must be serious, honest, firm, and credible so that it causes an unquestionable social repulsion. The announcement of the evil can be committed by word, in writing, or even by acts that demonstrate unequivocally the objective of causing evil on the perpetrator’s part. The victim doesn’t need to be present when the threat is made, nor is it necessary for the perpetrator to have achieved his goal of intimidating. The victim may become aware of the danger through a means other than the perpetrator himself.
Are you involved in a crime of threats? Our office has the best criminal lawyer in Barcelona, who will offer you the experience and dedication your case needs.
The crime of threats in the penal code
The crime of threats is typified in articles 169 to 171 of the Penal Code:
- Article 169 CP: Threat of an evil constituting a crime.
- Article 170 PC: Threats to collectives or groups.
- Article 171 PC: Threats of an evil not constituting a crime.
Types of Threats
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Different types of threats depend on whether they constitute a crime or are conditional, and each type has a different penalty.
Threats of evil constituting a crime (conditional and non-conditional). Art 169 CP
The typical action consists of threatening another person with causing him, his family, or other persons with whom he has intimately linked an evil that constitutes crimes of homicide, injury, abortion, against freedom, torture and moral integrity, sexual freedom, intimacy, honor, patrimony, and socioeconomic order. It can be conditional or non-conditional:
1. Conditional threat
Conditional threats are those in which the execution of the threatened act depends on the victim’s compliance with the imposed condition, which may or may not be unlawful.
As long as this condition exists, it will be considered a conditional threat, even if the victim does not carry out the imposed condition or fulfills only a part of it.
Suppose the victim fulfills this condition or a part of it. In that case, the Penal Code condemns this crime as an aggravated modality, imposing a penalty of one to five years of imprisonment. If it is not fulfilled, the penalty is six months to three years imprisonment.
These penalties would be imposed in its superior half if the threats were made in writing, by telephone, or by any other means of communication.
2. Non-conditional threat
This occurs when the defendant makes a threat with the sole purpose of causing harm to another without making any demands. The penalty is six months to two years imprisonment.
An example would be the typical death threat, in which nothing specific is demanded.
Threats of evil constitute a crime when directed against a collective or group. Art 170 CP
This type of threat occurs when it constitutes a crime and is directed against a cultural, ethnic, religious, or social group, the inhabitants of a population, or any other group of people.
It is an aggravated crime, and the penalty is higher than those mentioned above for threats constituting a crime, regardless of whether they are conditional threats.
An example of this type of threat would be to threaten to destroy a dam, poison drinking water, or spread an infectious virus.
On the other hand, Article 170.2 of the penal code punishes those who publicly call for the commission of terrorist actions with imprisonment from six months to two years. Since this conduct does not require any threat, it does not have the characteristics of the crime of threats.
Conditional threats of a wrong not constituting a crime. Art 171 of the Penal Code
Article 171 of the Penal Code typifies three different types of conditional threats of a wrong not constituting a crime:
1. Threats of an evil not constituting a conditional crime
This type of threat is always made under a condition, regardless of whether it is fulfilled, but the fact with which it is threatened does not constitute a crime, although it may be an unlawful act (for example, preventing you from sleeping).
The penalty for this type of threat is three months to one-year imprisonment or a fine of six to twenty-four months. Despite this, if the guilty party achieves the end pursued through the threat, it will be considered an aggravated threat, and the penalty will be imposed to a higher degree.
If the threat is conditional and the condition consists of due conduct, it will not be considered a threat crime. For example, I will sue you if you do not pay me what you owe me. The threat is to sue and does not constitute a crime; the condition is to pay what is owed, which is due conduct because a debtor must pay his creditors.
2. Blackmail
Blackmail is an aggravated type of the crime of threats not constituting a crime in which the accused threatens to disclose or disseminate private facts or a criminal act committed by the victim or his family if he does not comply with the condition imposed, which in this case is the delivery of economic capital as a reward.
If the threat does not consist of revealing a crime, the penalty imposed will be two to four years of imprisonment if the condition is fully or partially fulfilled and four months to two years if it is not fulfilled.
Suppose a threat is made to report or disclose a crime committed by the victim or his family. In that case, the prosecutor’s office, to facilitate the punishment of the threat, may refrain from charging the victim or his family for such a crime if the crime does not exceed two years of imprisonment. If the crime exceeds two years of imprisonment, the judge or court may reduce the penalty by one or two degrees.
3. Threats in the family environment or Misdemeanor threats
The third modality of the crime of threats is misdemeanor threats, which are related to the relationship between the aggressor and the victim and whose penalties are lower than those for threats constituting and not constituting a crime. The most frequent ones are detailed below.
Gender violence
This crime occurs when a man slightly threatens his wife, spouse, partner, former wife, or any other person with whom he maintains or has maintained any type of affective or sentimental relationship.
The penalty for this crime is six months to one year of imprisonment or thirty-one to eighty days of community service, as well as the deprivation of the right to possess weapons for one year and one day to three years.
Domestic violence
In this case, the accused slightly threatens one or more persons with whom they live, taking advantage of a situation of superiority. The penalty for this crime is the same as for threats of gender violence.
Other minor threats
The Penal Code considers as a minor crime other minor threats such as threats with weapons, threats with mitigating circumstances, and threats in which there is no relationship between the accused and the victim.
If you receive a complaint for a minor crime of threats in Barcelona, we first advise you to hire the best defense for your interests. Esteban Abogados Penalistas will accompany you throughout the legal process. We have extensive experience and success in all criminal proceedings, abbreviated and before the Court of Jury.
When is the statute of limitations for a minor crime of threats?
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Statute of limitations: the statute of limitations for a minor crime of threats is 1 year. The period will be computed from the date of commission of the crime.
Prescription of the penalty: the prison sentence imposed in a final judgment for a minor crime of threats for more than three months and less than three years, prescribed after 5 years.
Penalty for threats
The following is a summary of the different penalties that the penal code establishes for the crime of threats.
Simple or unconditional threat (Art. 169.2): six months to two years imprisonment.
Conditional threat with achieved purpose (Art. 169.1): penalty of one to five years imprisonment.
Conditional threat with purpose not achieved (Art 169.1): six months to three years imprisonment.
Threats in writing, by telephone, any means of communication or reproduction, or on behalf of real or supposed entities or groups, conditioned and with the achieved purpose (art 169.1, para. 2): penalty of two to five years imprisonment.
The threat of an evil that does not constitute a crime (art. 171.1): imprisonment of three months to one year or a fine of six to 24 months, provided that the threat was conditional and the condition does not consist of due conduct.
Threat to rebel or to disseminate private facts with intent to achieve in whole or in part (art. 171.2): imprisonment from two to four years.
Threat to rebel or disseminate private facts with purpose not achieved (art. 171.2): penalty of four months to two years imprisonment.
Threatening to terrorize the inhabitants of a town (art. 170): penalties higher in degree, depending on the circumstances provided for in art. 169.
Statute of limitations for the crime of threats
Statute of limitations of the crime: the statute of limitations for a crime of threats of a wrong constituting a crime is 5 years. If the wrongdoing is not a crime, the statute of limitations is 1 year. The period shall be computed from the date of commission of the offense.
Prescription of the penalty: A prison sentence imposed in a final judgment for a crime of threats for more than three months and less than three years is prescribed after five years. For more than three years and less than five years, the statute of limitations expires after 10 years.
Attempt in the crime of threats
The crime of threats occurs when a future evil is intentionally announced that is determined, possible, and unjust, to generate uneasiness and concern in the threatened person. The purpose is not to inflict material damage on the threatened person but to violate his right to personal tranquility and the normal development of his life.
According to sentence 1008/2021 of the second chamber of the Supreme Court, it is a crime of mere activity consummated at the exact moment the announcement of the threat reaches its addressee. The crime of threats is executed when a severe and firm warning of the evil is given, even if it does not necessarily produce the desired change of mind. It is sufficient that the expressions used are apt to frighten the threatened person, regardless of whether this purpose is achieved.