Russia is among the leading countries in the number of suicides in the world. Most suicides are due to the adverse effects of others on the victim. In the Criminal Code of 1960, in the section “Bringing to Suicide” (Article 107), a person was considered guilty only if the injured party was financially dependent on him. In 1996, this article was amended. Any individual could become an injured party. The current article, “Bringing to Suicide,” can serve as a reason for accusing any stranger who has somehow influenced the commission of suicide. For the dissemination of defamatory fabrications or threats against the victim, the suspect may be prosecuted.
Let's look at the objective side of the article “Bringing to Suicide”. The case starts in the case of:
1. Misconduct of the accused, that is: ill-treatment, threats, humiliation of human dignity.
2. If, by his actions, the accused brought the victim to a deadlock, in which the latter felt hopelessness.
3. If the victim was prompted to suicide, and the reasons for this are due to the behavior of the suspect.
The article “Bringing to Suicide” provides a clear list of punishable actions that contribute to suicide:
- threats against the victim;
- rough handling;
- constant humiliation.
Under the article “Bringing to Suicide” does not cover any other actions. For example, it does not include the constant harassment of a girlfriend or delayed payment of wages. There are no explanations regarding the qualification of threats. Therefore, the investigator can take the following actions for them: violence, illegal eviction, dissemination of intimate information. But the dismissal from work, which entailed suicide, can not be attributed to article 110.
Abuse is a fairly evaluative concept that is used in other articles of the law. Various cruel physical actions can be attributed to him: beatings, rape, restriction in movement. Basically, it involves the constant, regular behavior of the accused. Repeated insults and mockery are called in the Criminal Code by the term “systematic humiliation of dignity”. Suicide can be caused by both direct actions and inaction. For example, denial of food. The subjective side of this issue is contentious: some investigators may be reckless in this case, others may be intentional, and still others may be intentional.
There is a general rule that pushing someone to suicide is carried out either through negligence or with indirect intent. But direct intent is not excluded: a person leads the victim to suicide, that is, implies the possibility of further suicide. Through threats and ill-treatment, he brings the victim to these thoughts. For example, the victim, who is constantly under pressure, says that he will take his own life if it does not stop. Knowing
this, the accused continues to threaten the victim, wishing her death. With
direct intent, the actions of the accused can be regarded as murder. But in practice this is difficult to prove, since the victim, who is in his right mind, commits the conscious killing of himself. The text of article 110 “Bringing to Suicide” you can find in more detail in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.