What Is the Crime of Threat?
What is the Crime of Threat?
CRIME OF THREAT – TPC ARTICLE 106
The crime of threat is regulated in Article 106 of the Turkish Penal Code.
Threat
Article 106- (1) Any person who threatens another by stating that they will carry out an attack against their life, body, or sexual immunity, or that of their close relatives, shall be sentenced to imprisonment from six months to two years. In the case of a threat to inflict great damage to assets or other harm, upon the complaint of the victim, a sentence of imprisonment up to six months or a judicial fine shall be imposed.
(2) If the threat is committed;
a) With a weapon,
b) By the person concealing their identity, via an unsigned letter, or using special signs,
c) By more than one person together,
d) By taking advantage of the intimidating power of existing or assumed criminal organizations,
the perpetrator shall be sentenced to imprisonment from two to five years.
(3) In the event that the crimes of intentional killing, intentional injury, or damage to property are committed for the purpose of threat, penalties for these crimes shall be imposed separately.
For the crime of threat to be constituted, the act must be capable of affecting the victim's sense of security and inner peace, and inducing fear and anxiety. The disturbance of the victim's inner peace jeopardizes their ability to make decisions freely or act according to those decisions. In short, a threat is “an act that jeopardizes the victim's freedom of decision or action.”
The objective of the crime of threat is to prevent the victim from living fearlessly, without anxiety, in peace, and with a sense of security. The interest protected by the crime of threat is the person's mental world and inner peace. Because it disrupts the victim's inner peace and jeopardizes their freedom of decision or action, the act of threat is classified under the heading “Crimes Against Liberty” in the Turkish Penal Code. As explained in the rationale of Article 106 of the Turkish Penal Code, the legal value protected by the crime of threat is: “The legal value protected by threat is the peace and tranquility of individuals. Thus, the emergence of a sense of insecurity in individuals is prevented. Therefore, this article punishes attacks against a person's inherent peace and tranquility. However, the essential value that this article seeks to protect is the person’s freedom to make decisions and to act.”
The act sanctioned in the 1st paragraph of Article 106 of the Turkish Penal Code is the perpetrator threatening the victim by stating they will carry out an attack against their life, body, or sexual immunity, or will inflict significant damage to their assets, or cause other harm. In a threat, it is communicated that the harm will be committed or the injustice will be realized depending on the condition of fulfilling a request made by the perpetrator.
A threat can be carried out orally, in writing, or by any sign. What matters is that the injustice stated to be carried out is conveyed to the knowledge of the victim. The means by which this occurs is irrelevant. In a threat, it must be communicated that if the request forming the subject of the threat is not fulfilled, the harm will occur under the will of the perpetrator. If the perpetrator's words and actions are in the nature of a warning, they do not constitute a threat, no matter how harsh they may be. The difference between a warning and a threat is that in a threat, the harm to be inflicted upon the victim is created by the person making the threat, whereas in a warning, the occurrence of this harm is independent of the perpetrator's will and influence. What matters is not the words used by the perpetrator, but the meaning and the manner in which these words are spoken. The threat made to the victim must be capable of disturbing their inner peace and creating fear and anxiety in them.
According to the precedents of the Court of Cassation, a threat is the communication to the victim that they will be subjected to serious and unjust harm. It is the portrayal of a future harm, the occurrence of which depends on the perpetrator's will, as if it will actually happen. A threat must restrict the victim's freedom to make decisions and act freely, disturb their inner peace, and cause them anxiety. If the perpetrator's words do not create serious fear in the victim, and are not capable, sufficient, or appropriate for achieving a result, it cannot be argued that the crime of threat has been committed.
The crime of threat is a crime of pure conduct.
The perpetrator of the crime can be anyone. The sentence is increased if the crime is committed by a public official using the authority granted to them by their duty.
The victim of the crime can be anyone. However, the victim must be a specific person or persons. Threatening actions where the target is not specific do not constitute a crime. The threat does not necessarily have to be directed at the person of the victim. A threat carried out against the victim's relatives (e.g., mother, father, children, friends) is considered as having been made against the victim, provided that it is capable of inducing fear and anxiety in them. This is expressed in the article of the law as “the person themselves or their relatives.” As a rule, the crime of threat cannot be committed against persons who lack the capacity of perception due to their mental or physical condition.
The subject of the crime of threat is the inner peace and liberty of the victim targeted by the threat. For the crime to be constituted, it is not required that the threat necessarily disrupts the victim's inner peace or induces fear or anxiety in them. In other words, for the act of threat to be considered a crime, it is not dependent on the victim's inner peace being actually disrupted.
The qualified circumstances of the crime requiring heavier penalties are as follows:
If committed with a weapon,
By the person concealing their identity, via an unsigned letter, or using special signs,
By more than one person together,
By taking advantage of the intimidating power of criminal organizations,
the perpetrator shall be sentenced to imprisonment from two to five years.
In the event that the crimes of intentional killing, intentional injury, or damage to property are committed for the purpose of threat, penalties for these crimes shall be imposed separately.
The mental element of the crime of threat is that it can be committed knowingly and willingly.
The crime of threat is not subject to complaint; the Prosecutor's Office initiates an investigation ex officio. In the presence of a qualified circumstance requiring a lesser penalty, the prosecution of the crime is subject to complaint.
I hope you never encounter the type of crime I have tried to summarize above, either as a perpetrator or as a victim, and I would like to remind you that if you witness/hear such a crime, it is your civic duty to report it to law enforcement agencies. Wishing you healthy and peaceful days.