Conditions For Threat Offenses
Threat is the act of indicating that one will carry out an attack against another person’s life, physical integrity, or sexual inviolability, or against one’s own or a close relative’s life, physical integrity, or sexual inviolability.
What is the punishment for the crime of simple threat?
A person who threatens another person by stating that they will attack the life, physical integrity, or sexual integrity of that person or their close relatives shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of six months to two years.
If the threat is made on the grounds that significant damage will be caused to property or that some other harm will be inflicted, upon the victim’s complaint, the offender shall be sentenced to up to six months’ imprisonment or a fine.
What is the penalty for aggravated threat?
If the threat is made: a) With a weapon, b) By disguising oneself, through an unsigned letter or special signs, c) By more than one person acting together, d) By taking advantage of the intimidating power of existing or presumed criminal organizations, the perpetrator shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of two to five years.
NOTE:
If the crime of intentional killing, intentional injury, or damage to property is committed for the purpose of threatening, punishment shall also be imposed for these crimes.
With this article, “threat” itself has been made a crime. As is known, threat has been envisaged as an additional element in some other crimes. The legal value protected by the threat here is the peace and tranquility of individuals; thus, the emergence of a feeling of insecurity in individuals is prevented. Therefore, with this article, attacks against a person’s inherent peace and tranquility are punished. However, the fundamental value that the threat seeks to protect with this article is the person’s freedom to make decisions and act.
Threats often constitute an element of another crime. However, in this crime definition, the threat itself is defined as an independent crime. In this respect, the crime of threat is a general and complementary crime.
In the case of a threat, an assault or harm that will occur if the perpetrator’s demand is not met is communicated to the victim. The subject matter of the threat consists of informing the victim that their life or physical integrity will be endangered, that a specific criminal act will be committed, that force will be used in general, or that any harm or injustice will be carried out.
The characteristic of the threat is that whether the harm will be carried out or not depends on the will of the person making the threat. Whether the harm threatened will actually occur is, in reality or at least in appearance, at the discretion of the perpetrator. However, this does not mean that the harm will necessarily be carried out by the person making the threat; a threat can also be made by stating that the harm will be carried out by a third party.
Whether the threatened harm occurs or not is irrelevant for the crime to be established. The threat must be objectively serious in nature. That is, there must be an objectively existing possibility that the threatened harm will occur if the demand is not met. If the words spoken or the actions taken are not suitable, sufficient, or appropriate to create serious fear in the person addressed, it cannot be argued that a threat has been made. It must be investigated in each specific case whether the perpetrator’s words and actions are suitable and sufficient to create serious fear and anxiety in the person addressed. It is not necessary for a threat that is objectively serious to have an effect on the addressee in the specific case. Even if the perpetrator intended to threaten the victim with words and actions that are objectively serious, the victim may not have taken these words and actions seriously. In this case, the threat has still been made. Whether or not the threat is carried out should not depend on whether it has an effect on the addressee. The perpetrator must know that they have instilled in the other party the belief that they have the means and power to carry out the threatened assault. Once this belief has been instilled in the victim, it is irrelevant whether the perpetrator actually has the means and power to carry out the threatened assault. The victim may have been tricked into believing that the threatened assault was serious. However, a person cannot be threatened by stating that they may be subjected to harm based on superstitions.
The threatened harm may be directed at a third party rather than the victim. However, in this case, there must be a certain kinship or close relationship between the victim and the third party.
In the case of a threat, the person is intimidated by a statement that the threatened assault will occur in the future and is forced or compelled to engage in a certain behavior.
In the definition provided in the first paragraph of the article, a distinction is made based on the legal value to which the threat is directed. Accordingly, threats made with the intention of attacking the victim’s or their relative’s life, physical integrity, or sexual inviolability constitute the basic form of this crime. In contrast, threats made with the intention of causing significant damage to the victim’s property or other harm carry a lesser penalty than the basic form of the crime. Furthermore, the investigation and prosecution of this crime are contingent upon the victim’s complaint.
The second paragraph of the article lists the aggravated forms of threat that warrant a more severe punishment. These forms are situations that are likely to cause serious concern in the victim regarding the seriousness and intensity of the threat’s intimidating power. If the threat is carried out with a weapon, it is much easier for fear to arise regarding its seriousness. Similarly, the fear that arises when a person who has made themselves unrecognizable or a group of people carry out a threat together is very intense.
There is no hesitation regarding the fear that arises when a person is threatened by means of an unsigned letter or special signs. For example, an unsigned letter sent to a person will constitute a serious threat as it will deprive the person of the opportunity to defend themselves. Similarly, the use of special symbols, such as pictures of knives dripping with blood, in letters sent to a person can intensify the fear.
It is considered appropriate to classify the threat power created by existing or presumed criminal organizations, whether secret or open, as a qualified form of crime, since it can cause individuals to panic.
The third paragraph of the article states that if the crime of intentional killing, intentional injury, or damage to property is committed for the purpose of threatening, punishment will also be imposed for these crimes. To emphasize the seriousness of the threat, the person may have killed or injured another person or damaged their property. In such cases, the actual rules of concurrence shall apply, and punishment shall also be imposed for these crimes.
