Battery of moderate severity, punishment under article

The concept of moderate bodily injury

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation describes bodily injuries of moderate severity in Article 112. According to it, such beatings do not seriously undermine a person’s life, since they do not lead to death, but they interfere with living in the rhythm that is usual for him.

Moderate beatings harm a person’s health, causing him to lose his ability to work. The victim as a result of such illegal actions will not be able to perform approximately a third of his duties or will not be able to work at all for 2-3 weeks.

Bodily injuries will be considered those injuries that result in a person:

damaged internal organs or skin over large areas of the body, which is not dangerous to his life;
suffered mental disorder;
has not lost his ability to work completely;
did not become a drug addict or substance abuser.

Main features

The main signs of beatings are causing minor harm to health .

What is this harm?

Firstly, this is a short-term, not entirely noticeable health disorder.

How is such a concept characterized? The health disorder should last about three weeks , perhaps less, but no more. If the disorder is of a more prolonged nature, the harm is considered grave .

Also, if beaten, the employee cannot visit the place where they perform their work function for some time. Therefore, temporary disability is also understood as a sign of beating.

Punishment for assault of moderate gravity

Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for criminal liability for causing bodily harm of moderate severity. According to it, the perpetrator may receive the following punishment:

up to 360 hours of compulsory work;
3 years of restriction of freedom;
3 years of forced labor;
1 year of correctional labor;
arrest for six months;
3 years imprisonment.

If the crime was committed by a group of people, against a minor or with the use of weapons, the perpetrator will be imprisoned for 5 years.

Beatings. Difference from causing minor harm to health

Article 116 (Article 116 of the Criminal Code). The object of the crime is personal health. Objective side -

beating or committing other violent acts that caused physical pain, but did not entail the consequences characteristic of causing minor harm to health. That is, the objective side of the crime in question is formed by two independent acts: beatings and other violent actions.

Beatings -

This is repeated application of blows, which may leave bodily injuries (bruises, abrasions, small wounds, hematomas), or may not leave any objective traces.

If the beatings do not leave behind objective traces, then the forensic expert in his conclusion notes the complaints of the person being examined, the absence of objective signs of damage and does not determine the severity of the harm to health. In these cases, establishing the fact of beatings falls within the competence of the bodies of inquiry, investigation and court.

Other violent actions that caused physical pain -

pinching, biting, cutting, thermal effects on the victim’s body, twisting of arms, pinching of any parts of the body, if this involves causing physical pain, but did not cause harm to health of any severity and does not contain signs of torture.

Subjective side —

guilt in the form of intent, direct or indirect.

Subject is a sane individual who has reached the age of 16.

A distinctive feature of intentional infliction of minor harm to health (Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) from beatings is that, although slight, harm is caused to the health of the victim and (or) a minor permanent loss of general ability to work. The composition of Article 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not cause harm to health or loss of ability to work, but is expressed only in physical pain

A distinctive feature of the objective side of Art. 115 of 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is that this act can be committed both by action and inaction, and in case of beatings and torture, the act is expressed only by action.

Article 116 (Article 116 of the Criminal Code). The object of the crime is personal health. Objective side -

Beatings -

This is repeated application of blows, which may leave bodily injuries (bruises, abrasions, small wounds, hematomas), or may not leave any objective traces.

Other violent actions that caused physical pain -

Subjective side —

guilt in the form of intent, direct or indirect.

Subject is a sane individual who has reached the age of 16.

What should the victim do?

After a person has been beaten, he must, first of all, contact law enforcement agencies to write a statement about the infliction of bodily harm. In this document you need to describe all the circumstances of the crime and declare your desire to bring the culprit to justice.

The next step is a medical examination, which will confirm the fact of beatings and determine the degree of their severity. After all these actions, the victim must talk to the investigator and tell all the details of the crime.

Serious bodily harm, punishment

Serious bodily harm is characterized by its exceptional danger to the victim. Harm that results in, among other things:

the need to assign a disability group to the victim;
loss of the victim's hearing, vision, and ability to speak;
serious mental disorder;
loss of one or more limbs;
abortion.

Note! It does not matter whether the fatal consequences were caused directly by the harm, or whether the harm was provoked and aggravated by the victim’s chronic disease.

Causing serious harm to health is punishable exclusively strictly and only by imprisonment:

for simple, unskilled infliction: up to 8 years;
if the harm to health was caused for hooligan reasons, for hire, using a socially dangerous method or weapon, as well as in order to obtain and use the victim’s organs and tissues: up to 10 years, with restriction of freedom up to 2 years;
if there was more than one victim, or if the crime was committed by a group of persons: up to 12 years, with restriction of freedom up to 2 years;
if the victim died as a result: up to 15 years, with restriction of freedom up to 2 years.

If serious harm to health was caused in a state of passion, if the limits of self-defense or measures of detention are exceeded, the offender is punished in the same way as for the same acts that led to moderate harm to health.

What should the culprit do?

Often a person beats another in a state of passion. This will not justify him, but it may mitigate the punishment. You can also try to avoid imprisonment by apologizing to the victim and offering him financial assistance for treatment.

If he does not agree to reconciliation, you should contact a lawyer and provide as many positive characteristics as possible. These could be reviews from your place of work or residence. The subsequent defense of the perpetrator falls entirely on the shoulders of the lawyer.

Qualifying features

There are many classifications of beatings. They can be physical, committed by more than one person, at work, without witnesses, and so on. And each of these types needs additional description.

Corporal beatings can be either mild or severe . It depends on many factors. For example, the first group includes injuries from beatings that resulted in health problems that can be called short-term.

If we talk about the second group, then this is a disorder that entailed a lack of proper working capacity and the inability to perform a labor function for seven working days .

Bodily beatings can be expressed in the use of brute force causing damage to health.

Group beatings are actions committed against the victim by more than one person.

These actions are regarded as unacceptable , because beating in itself is unacceptable.

A distinctive feature of such a crime is that it is committed by several persons, which means that the damage to the victim is doubled .

Beating by a group of people can be carried out in the event of a hooligan attack on a citizen in the dark.

Beating up at work is a fairly common practice today, which can’t help but upset.

Battery is causing harm to health, so the degree also affects the qualification of this crime. Judicial practice knows many similar situations involving beatings .

Battery in the workplace is intentional infliction of harm . There can be many examples of assault at work. For example, a boss may lash out at his subordinates and the like.

A beating without witnesses is an undesirable occurrence for the victim. Firstly, this is unacceptable due to the fact that it is very difficult to prove the fact of beatings by specific people. Secondly, the lack of opportunity to help you.

Beatings without witnesses are common in the dark. An example could be beatings in the dark, in a remote area.

Domestic and family beatings can be combined into one group. Examples of such behavior could be domestic violence, where the father beats the mother or the parents beat the children. This is unacceptable and corrupts the institution of the family.

Rape and battery is a terrible thing.

Young girls who find themselves in the view of the rapist are subjected to it.

Unfortunately, the perverted consciousness loves to fantasize about sexual intercourse with the use of torture. This often occurs among mentally ill people .

Beatings resulting in death intentionally or through negligence - a common example is the situation when, in a fit of anger, a person cannot stop. Sometimes this happens when a person is in a state of passion .

Mild severity

Light battery is an unlawful act. They cannot be committed against people. This crime is punishable by both a fine and imprisonment.

Minor harm to health entails not only health problems, but also inability to work , which can negatively affect your body.

Moderate battery

Average harm to health is an unpleasant situation. The fact is that such an act, causing such harm, entails loss of ability to work for up to three weeks .

Severe

Serious beatings can be committed through negligence or even with intent.

The punishment for such an act is imprisonment.

Involves loss of ability to work for more than a month . Such harm to health cannot pass without a trace.

Statement to the police about bodily harm, sample

You can file a personal injury report at any police station. The degree of severity of the health that was caused to the victim can only be determined by a medical examination that will be carried out during the investigation. However, if after the act of causing harm, the victim sought help from doctors, the resulting report describing the injuries can be attached to the application.

It is better to prepare the application in writing, although even if the victim does not do this, the department employee is obliged to listen to the testimony, draw up a protocol and have it signed by the victim and accepted for consideration.

Note! The statement must briefly but succinctly describe everything that happened. Only facts should be mentioned. Speculation and emotions are inappropriate in this case. The application must be signed and dated by the victim.

There is no approved form for a statement to the police; it can be presented freely; as a possible example, you can consider the option offered at this link.

What happens if beatings are repeated in the family?

Supporters of the bill to decriminalize domestic battery constantly emphasize that it deals only with the first case of such an offense. For persons who have already been brought to administrative responsibility for beatings, there is Article 116.1 of the Criminal Code. It provides for a more severe punishment than the Administrative Code: a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles, or compulsory labor for up to 240 hours, or correctional labor for up to 6 months, or arrest for up to 3 months.

But in order to convict a domestic tyrant under this criminal article, you must first bring him to administrative responsibility.

Systematic beatings already fall under Article 117 of the Criminal Code “Torture” (if it does not entail grave or moderate harm to health). This is punishable, in particular, by imprisonment for up to 3 years. If the victim is a pregnant woman or child, then imprisonment can last up to 7 years.

Criminal liability for beating

Criminal liability for battery is provided for in Article 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Beating refers to violent actions that cause physical pain, but do not result in harm to the victim’s health.

To be considered criminal, actions must be committed out of hooligan motives or motivated by political, ideological, racial, national, or religious hatred against any social group. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation understands a crime committed out of hooliganism as deliberate actions against a person committed without reason (with an insignificant, insignificant reason). In practice, the courts decipher the hooligan motive as the desire to show disrespect for other people.

Let's look at an example. Citizen A blocked the roadway with his vehicle, preventing the passage of citizen B. At Citizen A’s request to clear the passage, Citizen B left his vehicle and struck one blow with his fist in the area of Citizen A’s face (through the open car window), causing the latter physical pain.

The court considered the reason for the blow to be insignificant, and the motives as hooliganism. Citizen B, by his behavior, demonstrated disrespect for society and superiority over other people, and therefore was sentenced to correctional labor for beatings.

Evidence in a case of beatings, as a rule, are expert opinions on injuries or medical certificates, witness statements, and protocols of confrontations between the victim and his offender.

Punishment options

Persons over 16 years of age are subject to criminal liability under this article. The statute of limitations for bringing to justice for beating is 2 years from the date of commission of the crime. If they weren’t brought to justice within this period, then they won’t be able to. The legislator has provided an extensive list of punishments for fighters:

compulsory work up to 360 hours;
correctional labor for up to one year;
restriction of freedom for up to 2 years;
forced labor for up to 2 years;
arrest up to 6 months;
imprisonment for up to 2 years.

The punishment is chosen by the judge taking into account the presence or absence of mitigating (aggravating) circumstances: this may include young children, serious illnesses, intoxication, characteristics from the place of work or study.

When considering cases involving beatings, the courts must find out who was the initiator (provocateur) of the beating. If the instigator of the fight was the victim, the person is not liable for committing a crime against such victim.

Important nuances

Battery is a minor crime. Accordingly, a criminal record under Article 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation will be considered expunged after three years from the date of release from prison. If the punishment was not associated with deprivation of liberty, the criminal record is considered expiration after a year from the date of execution of the punishment (for example, from the end of the arrest period).

Article 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers to articles of private-public prosecution. That is, a person can be held accountable only upon the statement of the victim. It is impossible to terminate a criminal case due to the fact that the victim has forgiven the offender.

In 2016, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was supplemented with Article 116.1, according to which a person can be brought to criminal liability if, within a year, he was brought to administrative responsibility for beating and repeated his actions again.

For example, citizen A did not share the dishes with his communal neighbor and hit him, for which he was subject to administrative liability. Six months after that, he hit another neighbor for similar reasons. In this case, citizen A is subject to criminal liability under Article 116.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Sanctions for such repeat offenders: a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles. or in the amount of wages (other income of the convicted person) for a period of up to three months, or compulsory work for up to 240 hours, or correctional labor for up to 6 months, or arrest for up to 3 months. In addition, a criminal case under Article 116.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation can be terminated at any stage (before the court is removed to the deliberation room) as a result of reconciliation of the parties.