What is the difference between a conditional and a non-conditional threat?
More in Criminal lawThreats, in our legislation, are minor offences that take place when a person announces a harm to another person (I am going to beat you up, I am going to kill you, ...), offering the victim the option of avoiding it (‘I am going to beat you up if you don't pay me’, ‘I am going to kill you if you don't leave the house’), or not.
They can also be indirect threats, but cause the same fear (‘I will kill your dog if you don't pay me’).
These are conditional and non-conditional threats, both specified in the Penal Code, and with the same objective, to terrorise a person or group.
Criminal offence of threats in the Penal Code
A threat is a crime that consists of announcing that something bad is going to happen to you, in a way of instilling fear and forcing you to act in a certain way to prevent it from happening to you.
The Penal Code considers threats as an offence against the freedom of persons.
What is considered a threat?
Threats come in many different forms, and they all have in common that they generate fear, or fright, in the person to whom they are directed.
‘I'm going to kill you’.
‘I'm going to reveal that information’.
There is always something bad that can happen to you, something is announced that, as we will explain below, may or may not be a crime.
The threat does not have to be in a direct way, it can also be by a message, or a publication in networks, for example.
The offence is considered to have happened, as long as the other person is afraid that ‘it’ could happen to them, even without words, a gesture can also be threatening and provoke a lot of fear in the person it is addressed to.
A threat does not have to be exclusively towards the person, but towards a loved one, a relative or a pet (‘I'm going to kidnap your daughter’, ‘I'm going to kill your dog’).
Threats are differentiated between those that directly announce what is going to happen, and those that give you the option of being able to prevent it from happening, that set a condition, therefore, we can differentiate between conditional and non-conditional threats.
What are conditional and non-conditional threats?
Both have the same purpose, to instil fear in someone so that they will comply with your wishes, it is the manner that changes, and both are specified in Art. 169 of the Penal Code.
Threats have another important difference, whether or not what is announced is a crime, i.e. it can be something unfavourable and harmful to the victim, but not be a crime in itself.
The Penal Code also rewards, and with greater severity, those that refer to the victim's family and living environment.
Non-conditional threats in the Penal Code
It is the one that is directly addressed to the victim, and it is going to happen, (‘I'll kill you’, ‘I'll beat you up’).
There is nothing you can do to avoid it, no conditions are set for the bad thing that is going to happen to you to happen.
Conditional threat in the Penal Code
In this case there is a condition.
If you do or don't do what I demand of you, that's when I'm going to beat you up, in a way, you can avoid it by fulfilling the condition that is asked of you.
How are conditional threats punished?
It is necessary to differentiate whether the threatened act constitutes a crime, then the penalty is increased.
Threats of something that is a crime in itself.
Regardless of whether you make a condition or not, if the announcement is a serious offence, that which is intended to be done is itself an offence.
For example, if I threaten to harm you if you do not pay me what you owe me.
In this case, I am not conditioning you to do anything illegal, in fact, you should pay me the debt without the need for threats.
But it is very different if I tell you that I am going to beat you up if you do not steal a car, I am urging you to commit a crime, and the law takes this into account when defining the penalty.
Penalties for criminal threats
Imprisonment from 1 to 5 years if the threat is successful, i.e. if the person making the threat succeeds (if you steal the car),
Imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years if the threat does not succeed, i.e. if the threat does not succeed, i.e. (you do not steal the car).
If they are made in writing, by telephone or by any means of communication or reproduction, or if they are addressed to collectives, the penalty is imposed in its upper half.
When the threat is not conditional, the penalty is 6 months to 2 years.
Threats of something that is not a crime in itself.
There is another type that does not constitute a crime, i.e. what I demand of you to avoid the threat is not actually a crime.
For example, ‘if you don't pay me that money you owe me, I'll beat you up’.
I'm not forcing you to do anything illegal, just that, because of your behaviour and my need, it's the only way I can find to get what's mine.
Penalties for threats not constituting an offence
Punishable only when it is conditional, and the condition does not consist of unlawful conduct.
Imprisonment of 3 months to 1 year or a fine of 6 to 24 months, depending on the gravity and circumstances of the act.
In any case, the threat is an offence punishable by law, regardless of whether it is made directly, indirectly or with a conciseness (criminal or not) to prevent it from being carried out.
If you are involved in a threatening offence and you do not know how to get out of this situation, contact us.
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