Every citizen has the right to freedom and inviolability, both in terms of social and legal. The ability to act in accordance with one's own will is a guarantee against lawlessness on the part of other people and state arbitrariness. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation addresses a number of crimes that pose a threat to the personal physical or mental integrity of a citizen. A separate article of the Criminal Code addresses illegal deprivation of liberty.
Legislation
Crimes committed against the person are considered in the seventh chapter of the Criminal Code. Any detention of a person carried out without a court order is unauthorized. Restriction of freedom may be connected with the abduction (Article 126), or without it (Article 127). The gravity of the crime depends on the circumstances for which the relevant paragraphs of the articles are defined.
Paragraph 1. Considers the unlawful deprivation of liberty of a person or his abduction without aggravating circumstances.
Paragraph 2. It implies a tougher punishment for the commission of an offense in the following cases:
- committed by several persons or in relation to two or more victims;
- there are elements of violence or actions that imply a danger to health, life;
- in relation to minors or pregnant women (obviously);
- use of weapons or items replacing them.
Clause 3. Crimes committed by an organized group, resulting in the death of the victim or other serious consequences, are qualified as especially serious.
Corpus delicti
Illegal deprivation human freedom implies restriction of its movement. In this case, the victim does not leave the place where he was until the time the offense was committed. The main symptom of a crime is the absence of legal grounds, which include the following detentions:
- as a preventive measure;
- in case of emergency;
- voluntary isolation;
- criminal or suspect.
The motives of the act and its duration do not matter when sentencing. However, in practice there are situations when the detention time was so short that it was regarded as insignificant. According to article 14 of the second chapter of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Illegal deprivation of liberty”, such cases are not considered.
Ways to commit a crime
Any unauthorized restriction of a person’s freedom of movement is a crime. This can be locking at the location of the victim, forcible holding with the use of a weapon or his threat, tying, chained. The retention method can be either physical or mental. When charged, both methods are equivalent. Illegal deprivation of liberty is not associated with any displacement. That is, the act is carried out on the territory of the victim of the crime.
Object and subject of crime
The object of the crime in this case is the personal freedom of the citizen. Any person affected by restriction of movement, choice, communication with other people, regardless of gender, age, social status, can be affected.
The subject of the crime is a citizen who has reached the age of sixteen and has carried out unlawful deprivation of liberty in relation to a person. UK in article 286 It provides for separate preventive measures against the official who committed the detention, using the powers.
It should be noted that citizens carrying out lawful detention of a citizen are not the subjects of an offense.Parents or their representatives who use the restriction of children's freedom for educational purposes are also not criminally liable.
Punishment
Illegal deprivation of liberty, not related to the movement of a person (part 1 of article 127), provides for a punishment of up to two years in the form of:
- restrictions on freedom;
- imprisonment;
- forced labor.
In addition, an arrest lasting from three months to six months is possible.
If there are qualifying signs (part 2 of article 127), the offender is threatened with forced labor for up to five years or imprisonment from 3 to 5 years.
If especially qualifying features are present in the case (Article 127, Part 3), the punishment is determined by imprisonment for 4–8 years.
Criminal liability is removed from the perpetrator if he:
- freed the victim voluntarily;
- the act does not contain another corpus delicti.
Abduction
Intentional actions related to the capture of a person and deprivation of his natural environment are considered Article 126 of the Criminal Code "Kidnapping". It can be secret or open, carried out by means of violent acts or deception. The crime includes moving the victim to a new place with subsequent retention. The coordinates of the abducted person may be known to third parties or remain secret.
Both an official and a private person can become a victim of an offense. A victim is not considered a child involuntarily displaced by a responsible person - mom, dad, grandparents.
The subject of the act is a citizen who has reached the age of fourteen. The qualifications of the crimes “abduction” and “unlawful deprivation of liberty” are identical. The exception is the clause “kidnapping for personal gain” (Article 126, part 2).
The duration of the offense can be unlimited time - hours, months, even years. Depending on the consequences of such detention, measures of influence on the offender are assigned.
Punishment for abduction
The offender who carried out the abduction shall be punished with a term of up to five years in the form of:
- imprisonment;
- forced labor.
If the crime includes the circumstances specified in the second part of Article 126 of the Criminal Code, the offender faces a prison sentence of six to fifteen years with or without restriction of liberty.
The abductions committed by an organized group that entailed the death of a person or other grave consequences are characterized as especially grave and include imprisonment from 6 to 15 years with a suspended sentence of up to two years or without him.
A person who released the victim without coercive measures is not subject to criminal liability if his act does not contain other elements of crime.
The difference between imprisonment and kidnapping
Kidnapping and unlawful deprivation of liberty differ from each other in the way they committed the offense, preventive measures and certain circumstances.
- When abducted, the victim forcibly changes his location. Deprivation of liberty involves keeping the victim in her natural environment without any movement.
- In case of restriction of freedom, the motives of the crime are not taken into account. An abduction committed with mercenary intent for ransom, for example, is considered particularly serious.
- Detention threatens punishment for up to eight years. In the event of its removal from the usual place, preventive measures are tightened to fifteen years.
Thus, a person’s freedom and his right to personal choice are not only provided for by law, but are also carefully protected. Forced unlawful restriction of movement is unacceptable and threatens with criminal liability.
