Defamation is the dissemination of false information that disgraces another person and adversely affects his reputation. Lovers of talking or lying about other people can be imprisoned and go to jail. If a person slanders another, then he can be sent to places of imprisonment or to corrective labor for a year. Also, gossip can pay a fine of several minimum wages.
In print
It is possible to disseminate false information not only verbally, but also in writing or in print. Such actions also qualify as slander. Section 129 of the Criminal Code provides for criminal penalties for anonymous letters. Penalties are also provided for those who have previously been involved and have been tried on the same issue. Punishment threatens the criminal with deprivation of will for up to three years. One of the forms of punishment may be a fine reaching the amount of 120 minimum wages, or correctional labor up to three years.
Defamation in conjunction with other crimes
There is another form of crime described in article 129 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Defamation, which comes with serious crimes, is an aggravating circumstance. This form of offense is punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to five years. In this case, a crime is considered especially dangerous because it is aimed at depriving a person of dignity and honor, and this is an inalienable personal right of every person.
Defamation is the dissemination of untrue fabrications that dishonor another person. In this case, only individuals are affected. This crime can also be committed against deceased persons or the mentally ill, who cannot be aware of the fact that they are slandered because of their circumstances. Responsibility is caused by the fact that a person during his life or in a state of mental health had a good reputation and appreciation of people, and as a result of slander, it can change for the worse. If, by certain fabrications, their good name was damaged, then those who do so will be punished.
It doesn’t matter to whom untruthful information was transmitted
Any untruthful information of a negative nature harms the one about whom they gossip. Defamation of the Criminal Code (Article No. 129) is considered as the transfer of false information about another person to even one unauthorized person. And it doesn’t matter if this information is further disseminated or not. It also does not matter who the person who received the false information was: a family member, a friend of the victim, or a work employee.
Such a crime is dangerous because the slanderer no longer has power over the story that he issued, and also can not predict the results of his story. It cannot influence to stop the spread of slander further, and also to control the content. The malevolent feelings of others and idle curiosity can significantly expand the circle of participants and listeners.
It is impossible to predict in advance at what stage in life this lie will be revealed, and what the consequences will be for the slander. Slander is the destruction of someone else's honor, and it does not matter how many listeners were heard and in what place it was pronounced.
Conversation with the injured or behind the back?
Lies can be voiced by both a group of individuals and one person. At the same time, information is transmitted that is known to be false. Information is transmitted that a person participated in immoral affairs or committed illegal acts. All this information is aimed at disgracing a person.It does not matter if the victim was present at the moment when the libel was pronounced. Article 129 provides that even if a lie was voiced by a person, punishment will still follow.
There is one peculiarity - if untruthful information was given to the victim directly, without witnesses and unauthorized persons, in this case the speaker can be accused of insulting.
Forms of distribution of false information
Inaccurate information, which is considered by article 129 of the Criminal Code as slander, can be transmitted to unauthorized persons in a different form:
- Dissemination of information orally.
- Submission of materials in writing.
- Anonymous statements, including in print media.
- Statements on radio and television.
From the moment the untruthful information was transferred to the second person, the crime is considered committed, even if the victim still does not know anything about it.
The content of defamation
People are unpleasant when they gossip about them behind their backs, they talk about them in their absence. Slander is a fabrication, a fabrication. The information contains a false fact or false circumstance. It can be direct, for example, that a certain person received a bribe. But it can be indirect. There is no direct indication of a vicious action, but a hint is given, for example, that a person leads a depraved lifestyle, while specific situations are not indicated. Or that a woman fell ill with a bad disease, but details are not indicated, under what circumstances this happened. All these actions are regarded as slander. Article 129 of the Criminal Code considers such an act as unlawful actions towards another person.
Statements of a disgraceful nature, but not containing a false fact, have no defamation, but with certain signs they can serve as a basis for accusing an insult. If a person is called a thief or a scoundrel, then this is an insult, but without concrete facts it cannot be qualified as slander. If certain facts or even indirect ones are not indicated, this will not go into the definition of defamation. Article 129 of the Criminal Code does not stipulate punishment for insult.
The future does not count
When constituting a crime is considered, only facts that could relate to the past or present are taken into account. Assumptions about what will happen in the future cannot appear in slander.
Slander is the dissemination of false information that is not true. If true information is transmitted, it does not contain slander, even if it disgraces a person. And also that untruthful information does not fall under the article if the slanderer did not know that it was false, although it disgraced the victim.
There are cases when libel cases were suspended because it was proved and established that the facts were true and there were no fabrications. And according to the Criminal Code, slander assumes that it must necessarily contain false information.
In the fabrications, information is supposed to discredit a person’s good name and spoil his reputation. The person disgraced this information or not, is considered in each individual case, and this is done in court. This category includes any facts that detract from the honor of a citizen in society and his dignity. It is enough that the reputation will be spoiled even in the eyes of one person, and not society.
Specific example
It seems that everything they say is not worth paying attention to. Indeed, you will not, on every occasion, hold people accountable for their words. But there are moments that should not be ignored. The court considers each situation individually. At the meeting, the testimony of the victim and the accused, as well as witnesses (if any) must be heard.In addition, the judge must understand all the facts: is the defamatory information really slanderous? Or is it true? Are there extenuating circumstances? What evidence is there that the information is false or, conversely, true? Can you trust them? Is the information disgracing and damaging the reputation of the victim?
Motives of crime
Inaccurate information is disclosed about a person for subjective reasons and with specific intent. The reasons can be different, often the motives are envy, jealousy or revenge, they are taken into account when passing the punishment. In order to punish the guilty one, it is necessary to prove that he obviously knew that the information disseminated was untrue, that is, he understood that he was disseminating false information, but he did it anyway. If the guilty person was sure of the correctness of his words and sincerely believed that he was telling the truth, then this is not slander. But it is not always possible to reveal the fact that the accused did not really know the whole truth or pretended to not know.
So, once two convicts for defamation were acquitted, despite the fact that they published information about a certain person in the press, accusing her of simulation and truancy. In the course of the case, it was noted that the defendants were guilty of publishing information without thorough verification. But the information was made public based on information that was obtained from medical documents, as well as from the words of the head of the medical institution. The defendants had no reason not to believe this information, so they were confident in its veracity. As a result of these circumstances, the defamation charge was dropped.
The court explained that only persons who transmit knowingly false facts can be held liable. If the accused was mistaken in his opinions, but the information was offensive in nature, this situation fits into an article that says about the insult. In this example, you can also prosecute a person.
Who can be held accountable?
When a person reaches sixteen years of age, he can be prosecuted under article 129. This can be either the person who invented the false veils, or the one who distributes them. They begin to consider a case only when the victim himself initiates it by filing a complaint. The penalty for libel may be imprisonment, so in the case when the court passes such a verdict, he must justify his decision. After all, there are other forms of punishment for this crime, for example, in the form of correctional labor and material payments. The case must be examined comprehensively and fully, the punishment must be individualized.
If a punishment has been chosen that is not related to deprivation of liberty or conditional imprisonment, then it is worth discussing the question of the possibility of re-educating the guilty person and transferring him to correctional labor in public organizations or organizations at the place of residence of the guilty person.
Aggravating circumstances
In matters of slander, there is the concept of aggravating circumstances. These are cases when information was distributed in writing or in print, and was also disclosed in an anonymous letter. Severe punishment is also imposed on those who have previously been convicted under the same article. This suggests that such a person has an outstanding conviction. If the criminal record on the previous slander is withdrawn or canceled, then in the present case these facts are not taken into account.
Aggravating circumstances are the fact that the victim was irreparably damaged due to the spread of false information: he was kicked out of work, his marriage broke up or the person went to hospital. Each case requires an individual trial.