What is sabotage, its composition and difference from terrorism

The most terrible, dangerous and large-scale crimes in criminal law are considered sabotage and terrorist acts. This type of crime as sabotage moved into the criminal world from the tactics of conducting military operations on enemy territory.

In the modern world, sabotage is the complete or partial destruction of infrastructure, associated with a threat to the lives of citizens. Sabotage is classified as a terrorist act. But there is a fundamental difference between sabotage and a terrorist act.

Definition and purpose of sabotage

Evasion or distraction - this is how the word sabotage is translated from Latin. Such an act was used as the main method of resistance by a team of people whose numbers were much smaller than the enemy forces.

In wartime conditions, the actions of sabotage groups were equated with heroic deeds. Cases of sabotage in peacetime against the ordinary population are a cynical act that has no justification. Sabotage is a pre-planned action that is carried out secretly against an identified enemy, infrastructure, or economy. The goals of sabotage may be the following:

1. Termination of the normal functioning of an object due to its complete or partial destruction.
2. Violation of the state's defense capability.
3. Failure of the country's economic stability.

All goals can be aimed at achieving other goals, or they can intersect with each other.

Terminology

The Latin term diversio translates as “deviation, distraction.”
Sabotage refers to acts planned by criminals (or a criminal) aimed at damaging, destroying or destroying important objects with the intent of damaging economic security and undermining the defense capability of the state. Sabotage is carried out on the territory of the state where hostilities are taking place, or on the territory of the enemy. An important factor is that these actions should not be associated with direct combat operations - they are carried out secretly and covertly.

Types of sabotage

All sabotage is divided into several types:

• Organization of the explosion.
• Flooding.
• Arson.
• Other actions that lead to immediate failure or destruction of the object.

Most often, sabotage is carried out at the following objects:

• Heavy industry enterprises.
• Crowded places.
• Buildings and structures related to transport infrastructure.
• Means of public transport.
• Communication nodes.
• Objects responsible for life support of populated areas.
• Objects of the defense complex.

Criminal legal characteristics

As a result of deliberate sabotage, there is a destructive effect on various objects of a material and property nature.

When carrying out sabotage, human life and health are primarily endangered and cause significant material and moral damage. Qualification of the illegal act of sabotage is possible in various situations.

For example, if as a result of the actions of a person who did not plan to carry out sabotage, large-scale destruction was caused, his act may be qualified as sabotage.

Direct intent will consist in the attacker’s understanding of the possible consequences of his action.

Qualifying features

Qualifying features allow you to determine whether a criminal act has taken place, and also establish the severity of the damage.

When qualifying a crime, it is important to take into account the signs of sabotage, which are aggravating. For example, an aggravating feature would be the commission of sabotage as part of a group of persons or causing death to individuals during a sabotage operation.

Important! A similar act that was committed in wartime, during a military operation, is not subject to criminal liability, since all the actions of the subjects of sabotage were aimed at undermining the combat capability of the enemy army.

A socially dangerous act is considered to be committed from the moment the actions were carried out that led to the destruction of property.

Corpus delicti

The corpus delicti of sabotage is the presence and implementation of a planned act with malicious intent, as a result of which the interests of the state and society were harmed. Such an act is characterized by the presence of a direct connection between the subject and the object of the crime. The object of sabotage actions can be:

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• State property.
• Economic security.
• Defensiveness.
• Property interests of the state and citizens.

The objective side of sabotage is a destroyed or damaged property infrastructure facility. The objective side of the crime includes the methods of destruction used, explosives, and tools used. An important characteristic is the combination of the following indicators that led to the destruction of the object:

• Time.
• Place.
• Way.

The subject of a criminal act during sabotage is considered to be a person whose age is 16 years old, and for specific cases 14 years old, who has encroached on the integrity and performance of state property.

Direct intent to destroy is the subjective side of the crime. When qualifying sabotage, all the nuances that prompted the attacker to carry out sabotage will be taken into account. The correct qualification of an act of sabotage implies the mandatory establishment of a relationship between criminal actions and the direct involvement of a person in the destruction of an object.

Terrorism is...

The concept of “terrorism” has legal force, it is disclosed by the Federal Law of March 6, 2006 N 35-FZ “ On Countering Terrorism ”.

Translating from legal language into Russian, we can say that terrorism is a policy based on ideologically motivated violence .

At different times, this specific policy changed, giving rise to various, not always correct, interpretations.

Sometimes the activities of their political opponents are called terrorism, but sometimes, on the contrary, the terrorists themselves call themselves partisans, saboteurs behind enemy lines. There are cases in history when politicians who are committed to terrorist ideas became state leaders.

In general, everything is confusing, and even legislators disagree, giving different definitions. Let’s leave it to the lawyers to clarify the wording and break this concept down piece by piece to make things clearer.

Terrorism has distinctive features :

1. The real danger threatening a circle of people, and how wide this circle is, is problematic to determine.
2. The public nature and wide publicity are the main difference from other crimes (what is this?), committed, as a rule, secretly. If a terrorist attack does not turn into a discussed event and does not cause shock among the population and the authorities, it loses its meaning.
3. Deliberate creation of a frightening environment, an atmosphere of depression, tension . Fear here plays the role of a lever of targeted influence to achieve the goals set by terrorists.
4. Violence (or the threat of violence) is used against some individuals, and the influence is actually exerted on others in order to persuade them to make the necessary decisions.

Terrorism is also a psychological phenomenon that can influence the social atmosphere, generate fear and uncertainty about the future.

By their actions, terrorists undermine the principles (what is this?) on which the understanding of the world is based, instilling in millions of people a feeling of helplessness.

Difference between sabotage and terrorist attack

In the case of preparation, but not implementation of an act of sabotage for various reasons, such actions are qualified under Article 30 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

It is quite difficult to distinguish between an act of sabotage and a terrorist act. Both crimes are cynical and cause widespread destruction, but there are some differences. The purpose of committing an act of sabotage is to destroy the object and cause maximum property damage.

In sabotage, the material nature of the act is of primary importance. The differences between a terrorist attack and sabotage must be assessed based on the results of the act:

• Open designation of the goals of the action.
• Political demands from government authorities.
• Expressing the need to fulfill the demands of criminals.
• Intimidation of citizens or revenge.

To suppress the will and instill fear in the enemy, terrorist acts are carried out on a large scale. The goals of such a crime are much greater than simply destroying government facilities and undermining the economic security of the country. The listed goals are an aspect of terrorist acts.

When carrying out sabotage actions, casualties are possible, but the priority is to cause destruction of infrastructure. The main goal of a terrorist act is to maximize the number of victims among the population. The main difference between sabotage and a terrorist attack is the priority goal of committing a criminal act.

Methods of terrorism

Terrorist activity has many faces, but at the heart of all its methods is the intimidation of political opponents or the population through the use of violence (or through threats to use it).

Here are the most common ones.

1. Explosions of various objects (state, industrial, military), offices, residential buildings, train stations, etc.
2. Political assassinations or kidnappings (victims may include officials, media personalities, public figures, etc.). In case of abductions, blackmail is used to demand the fulfillment of certain conditions.
3. Seizure of buildings, vehicles (planes, trains, ships, etc.), accompanied by the taking of hostages, after which negotiations with the authorities usually begin “from a position of strength.”
4. Beatings, non-fatal wounds, blackmail, spreading panic rumors, etc. – psychological pressure on the victim.
5. Use of computer and telecommunications technologies (hacking of computer systems and data theft, disabling equipment and software, releasing classified information into the public domain, etc.).

To solve their problems, terrorists use bladed weapons and firearms, explosives, chemical and bacteriological agents, and poisons.

The use of nuclear weapons is still considered a hypothetical situation, and to prevent it from becoming realistic, all nuclear developments are carefully classified.

Punishment and responsibility

For committing an act of sabotage, liability is provided under Article 281 of the Criminal Code. It includes punishment in the form of:

Arbitrage practice

In Russian judicial practice, cases of sabotage are few in number, since they are not made public. On the contrary, a terrorist attack is always covered on a wide scale.

Judicial proceedings in cases of sabotage are always closed. This is done to ensure that important information does not leak to the masses.

Thus, sabotage activities are always directed against state power and its principles, and therefore the punishment is also quite serious.