ST 117 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
1. Infliction of physical or mental suffering through systematic beatings or other violent actions, if this does not entail the consequences specified in Articles 111 and 112 of this Code, is punishable by restriction of freedom for a term of up to three years, or forced labor for a term of up to three years, or imprisonment for the same period.
2. The same act committed: a) in relation to two or more persons; b) in relation to a person or his relatives in connection with the performance of official activities by this person or the performance of public duty; c) in relation to a woman who is known to the perpetrator to be pregnant; d) in relation to a person who is known to be a minor or a person who is known to be in a helpless state or in financial or other dependence on the offender, as well as a person who has been kidnapped or taken as a hostage; e) using torture; f) by a group of persons, a group of persons by prior conspiracy or an organized group; g) for hire; h) for reasons of political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or for reasons of hatred or enmity towards any social group - is punishable by imprisonment for a term of three to seven years.
Note : In this article and other articles of this Code, torture is understood as the infliction of physical or mental suffering for the purpose of forcing a person to testify or take other actions contrary to the will of a person, as well as for the purpose of punishment or other purposes.
Commentary to Art. 117 Criminal Code
1. The objective side of the crime consists of an act expressed in the form of two alternative actions: systematic beatings (occurring at least three times, multiple blows) or the commission of other violent actions causing physical or mental suffering (prolonged infliction of pain by pinching, cutting, inflicting multiple, including small, injuries with blunt or sharp objects, exposure to thermal factors, prolonged deprivation of food, drink or heat, placing or leaving the victim in conditions harmful to health, other similar actions).
2. Systematic beating is a chain of interrelated actions, united by the common line of behavior of the perpetrator towards the victim and the desire to cause him constant physical or mental suffering. The systematic nature of beatings causes the victim not only physical, but also mental suffering, accompanied by feelings of humiliation, resentment, etc. Therefore, even repeated beatings cannot be considered torture if they were scattered in nature and not united into a system.
3. The health of the victim should not be caused to severe or moderate harm. Otherwise, the act is covered by Art. 111 or 112 of the Criminal Code (qualification is possible under clause “b”, part 2 of Article 111, clause “c”, part 2 of Article 112 of the Criminal Code) and additional qualifications under Art. 117 of the Criminal Code does not require it.
4. Infliction of mental suffering through systematic humiliation of human dignity or through threats is not considered torture. In appropriate cases, these actions may form elements of other crimes against the person (Articles 119, 130 of the Criminal Code).
5. The crime is considered completed from the moment the socially dangerous act is committed and the onset of socially dangerous consequences (for example, in the form of minor harm to health) is not required.
6. Financial or other dependence (clause “d” of Part 2 of Article 117 of the Criminal Code) means the dependence of the offender on the person who is dependent on him, lives in his living space without having his own, etc. Another type of dependence includes, for example, official dependence, based on subordination to the person responsible for the work of the victim (the worker to the head of the workshop, and that to the director of the plant, etc.). Such dependence can arise in a variety of cases (for example, dependence of a student on a teacher, a witness or defendant on an investigator, etc.).
7. The concept of torture (clause “d”, part 2 of article 117 of the Criminal Code) is disclosed in the note to art. 117 CC. In relation to Art. 117 of the Criminal Code, this concept should be interpreted restrictively: if physical or moral suffering is caused in order to compel testimony, then criminal liability will arise under Art. 302 or 309 of the Criminal Code.
Where should I contact?
To protect your rights from criminal acts, do not delay contacting law enforcement agencies. You need to submit an application to the territorial police department, stating all the circumstances of the crime. The application is drawn up in any form, and its contents indicate the following points:
- name of the police authority where the application is submitted;
- information about the victim, his contact details;
- a detailed description of the circumstances - the time and place of systematic beatings and torture, the circumstances of the use of physical force;
- a list of witnesses who can confirm these facts;
- a list of evidence that confirms the fact of the crime;
- information about the identity of the criminals;
- date and personal signature of the applicant.
Note! Each statement is registered in the KUSP (crime reporting book). In confirmation of your accepted application, you will be given a coupon with a registration number, using it you will be able to control the timing of the verification.
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Immediately after receiving the application, you must be given a referral for a medical examination, in this way the nature of the injuries will be confirmed. Based on the results of the inspection, a decision is made to initiate a criminal case or to refuse to prosecute.
We recommend not to delay the medical examination. Traces of torture pass quickly enough - if the expert does not record them during examination, it will be much more difficult to prove the guilt of the criminal.
Forensic examination and examination of beatings
As part of the forensic examination, the victim is examined, after which an expert report is drawn up. This document reflects the following facts:
- the number and nature of the injuries, their location on the victim’s body;
- the alleged weapon of the crime;
- how long ago the blows were inflicted or the marks of torture appeared;
- severity of harm to health;
- other circumstances relevant to the consideration of the case.
If, after beatings and torture, urgent medical assistance is required, it is advisable to immediately consult a doctor. After the provision of medical services, information about injuries and damages will be recorded in the medical record and other documents. When subsequently contacting the police and for examination, extracts from medical documents will be examined by an expert, and information from the certificate of beatings will be included in the expert report.
Note! When citizens contact with traces of physical violence, medical institutions are required to send notifications to the police. If the damage is of a moderate or severe nature, a criminal case is initiated even without a statement from the victim.
The law classifies facts of beating or torture as crimes of public prosecution. They will be considered according to the general rules of the Code of Criminal Procedure in federal court, and the prosecution will be represented by a prosecutor.
Are witnesses needed?
Testimony of witnesses is considered as one of the evidence in criminal cases. However, in the absence of witnesses, you can use the following to prove:
- forensic medical examination report;
- physical evidence from the crime scene;
- photo and video recordings, including those made by the victim himself;
- oral testimony of an expert in legal proceedings;
- procedural documents on previously considered statements of beatings.
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Note ! During the inquiry and investigation, characteristics of the victim and the criminal (from the place of residence and work) are requested, the participants in the case are interrogated, and other procedural measures are carried out. All written and material evidence, as well as protocols, are attached to the case file for subsequent submission to the court.
Second commentary to Art. 117 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
1. Objective side: causing physical or mental suffering. Methods of this infliction are systematic beatings or other violent actions.
The objective side of this crime covers only the infliction of minor harm to health.
2. Systematic beatings do not mean the number of blows inflicted on the victim, but the repetition of the tort: acts of violence (beatings) continue over a period of time and represent episodes that are independent in design and execution. The sign of systematicity in this crime reflects the significance of a specific life situation and does not have a strict legal meaning. Therefore, the annulment of legal consequences for an offense (assault) for any episode does not affect the assessment of the beatings as systematic.
3. Physical or mental suffering is caused to the victim by other violent acts. The legislator does not specify their content, since the physical or mental experiences of the victim are essential for the elements of torture. The external form of violence is not decisive. Violence can be applied not even to the object of torture (the victim), but to third parties. An example of such torture is violence in the presence of the victim against people close to him with the aim of causing him suffering.
4. The subjective side in the main structure of this crime is characterized by direct intent. The subject of torture is a person who has reached the age of sixteen.
5. Qualified types of torture are provided for in Part 2 of Art. 117 CC. The content of the signs provided for in paragraphs “a”, “b”, “c”, “f”, “g”, “h” of this article coincides with the content of the signs provided for in part 2 of article 105 (see 6 commentary to part second article 105 of the Criminal Code).
6. The use by the perpetrator of the financial or other dependence of the victim (clause “d” of Part 2 of Article 117 of the Criminal Code) in the context of torture is interpreted in a broad sense as a social connection between the perpetrator and the victim. These relations can be regulated by law and be in the nature of legal, official, administrative, and disciplinary relations. The legal (and other status) meaning of dependence has no criminal legal significance: the very nature of the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim is important. An essential feature of dependence is its subjective meaning: the essence of the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim must be understood by both.
7. The use of torture (clause “d”, part 2, article 117 of the Criminal Code) is a method of action. The concept of torture is given in paragraph 11 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ratified by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on June 26, 1987). The inclusion of the specified qualifying feature in Article 117 of the Criminal Code has an international legal basis.
The concept of torture is formulated in a note to this article.
Article 117 of the RF IC. Indexation of alimony (current version)
1. Indexation is one of the ways to protect the population and consumers from inflation, which consists in the fact that the state and other entities paying income increase the cash income and savings of citizens in accordance with rising prices for consumer goods and services. Paragraph 1 of the commented article talks about the indexation of alimony.
In this regard, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, in its Review of Judicial Practice for the third quarter of 2006, provided clarifications according to which, when indexing the amounts of alimony collected by court decision in a fixed amount, the minimum wage established by Art. 1 of the Federal Law “On the Minimum Wage”, since with an increase in the minimum wage, the salary of the person liable for alimony increases, which entails an increase in the amount of alimony paid as a share of his income, and persons receiving alimony in a fixed amount of money and persons Those who receive alimony as a share of their wages should be equally protected from inflation.
Thus, the minimum wage is established by Federal Law No. 82-FZ of June 19, 2000 “On the minimum wage”. This Law establishes two types of minimum wages (minimum wages). Article 1 established the minimum wage from July 1, 2022 in the amount of 7,800 rubles per month.
In accordance with Art. 3 of this Law, the above-mentioned minimum wage is used to regulate wages and determine the amount of benefits for temporary disability, pregnancy and childbirth, as well as for other purposes of compulsory social insurance. The use of the specified minimum wage for other purposes is not permitted.
Alimony payments are classified as payments for other purposes. The minimum wage in this case is regulated by Art. 5 of the said Law, according to which it should be 100 rubles. However, it should be taken into account that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, in its Review of Judicial Practice for the third quarter of 2006, gave the following explanation: “In accordance with the norms of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, alimony is collected in proportion to the earnings of the person obligated to pay alimony. When the minimum wage increases, the salary of that person increases, therefore, the amount of alimony paid increases. Since persons receiving alimony as a share of the salary of the alimony payer and persons receiving alimony in a lump sum must be equally protected from inflation, when indexing the amounts of alimony collected by a court decision in a lump sum, the minimum the amount of remuneration established by Art. 1 of the Federal Law of June 19, 2000 N 82-FZ “On the minimum wage”.
2. According to paragraph 2 of the commented article, the court establishes alimony in a fixed amount of money that is a multiple of the subsistence level, that is, in a certain amount of the minimum wage. In this case, as an exception, the amount of alimony can be established as a share of the subsistence minimum. Paragraph 12 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 25, 1996 No. 9 “On the application by courts of the Family Code of the Russian Federation when considering cases of establishing paternity and the collection of alimony” it is noted that when collecting alimony in a fixed sum of money, the courts must take into account that the amount alimony collected for minor children from parents (Article 83 of the Family Code), as well as from former adoptive parents upon cancellation of adoption (Clause 4 of Article 143 of the Family Code), should be determined based on the maximum possible preservation of the child’s previous level of support, taking into account material and marital status of the parties and other noteworthy circumstances.
Comment source:
“ARTICLE-BY-ARTICLE COMMENTARY TO THE FAMILY CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION” UPDATED
S.P. Grishaev, 2017
Punishment for systematic beatings
If a citizen is guilty of a crime under Art. 117 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation will be proven; possible sanctions may include restriction of freedom, forced labor or imprisonment for up to 3 years.
If there are special qualifying circumstances, the punishment will be significantly more severe. To such factors Art. 117 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers to:
- torture of a pregnant woman if the perpetrator knew about her condition;
- a group of persons or an organized group;
- violence committed against two or more persons;
- beating (torture) of a minor or helpless person;
- violence committed for hire;
- if beatings or torture were accompanied by torture;
- if the criminal's actions are motivated by religious, racial, national hatred and enmity.
Punishment for such a composition will be expressed in the form of imprisonment for a term of 3 to 7 years.
If you have any questions or need help with holding you accountable for systematic battery, please contact our lawyers. We will explain the rules of the law and help you choose the best protection option. Contact us, you will find a way out even in the most difficult situation!
