Lawyer Evgeniy Korchago: the only unpunished way of self-defense is flight will not fall under the article, Yevgeny Korchago, a member of the Moscow Bar Association, told Lente.ru. Self-defense specialist Maxim Shramkov also named another means of protection – pepper spray, the risk of injury from which is minimal. In addition, he advised not to rush to stand up for strangers on the street.
After the scandals with migrant attacks on Russians, many drew attention to the problem of self-defense and how to defend themselves so as not to become accused themselves. Another question remains relevant: is it possible to help the victim of an attack so as not to cross the line of a criminally punishable act.
Anticipate the attack
“In fact, this line is clearly established and regulated by the concept of necessary self-defense. Another thing is how the law enforcement officer interprets it, says Korchago. – By law, if you or another person is in danger, you have the right to defend yourself in all available ways, including causing any damage to the attacker. In practice, unfortunately, the defenders themselves often become involved in cases if the attackers are injured or when the case ends in death for them. Our law enforcement practice in this regard is rather complicated, it needs to be changed in order to give people a real opportunity to defend themselves. Without this, the situation here will not improve. ”
In order not to get punished for trying to defend oneself, the lawyer advises simply to run, even though such a step is not socially approved. If the conflict cannot be avoided, it is permissible to use any means of self-defense, but realizing that, most likely, you will have to answer for this to the fullest extent.
“If something threatens your life, the life of your child, you have the right to use any means of self-defense, even a traumatic weapon, while observing the rules of use. In any case, as colleagues say, it is better to be a living accused than a dead victim, ”concluded the human rights activist.
Maxim Shramkov considers the main way of self-defense to be anticipating the attack itself. This applies to any person, regardless of gender or age. The specialist advises not to walk at night in a player and headphones, go around drunk companies, and not respond to calls. If you still cannot avoid a collision, you need to arm yourself.
“From the public, there are two options: a shocker and a pepper spray. The latter has the greatest degree of stopping effect, it is the cheapest and at the same time there is the least possibility of causing bodily harm, that is, the least chances that you will be attracted for this, – the expert explained. – But with the protection of other people is a completely different story. Formally, we really have the right to protect the victim of violence, but with a high probability you yourself can fall under the article, because there was no threat directly to your life. ”
Shramkov noted that in the current law enforcement practice, the only way to guarantee not to incur problems is to pass by. The maximum is to call the police, because in the Russian civil society it is they who must solve such problems.
The line between self-defense and a criminal offense is in the minds of judges. Despite the fact that the law allows us to defend ourselves by any available means, prosecutors will immediately pay attention to a million subtleties: was there really a threat to life, was it possible to get out of the situation differently, did you do everything for this. But at the moment when you are threatened, when you need to defend yourself, it’s a little not up to it, and you don’t have to think about it. You only need to think about how to preserve your own life and health
Maxim Shramkov
Earlier, four who attacked a father with a child in New Moscow said that they were innocent in the conflict and themselves became victims of the attack. According to their version, the conflict began over ten rubles, then allegedly one of them was hit with a bottle. According to the detainees, none of them touched the child during the fight. It was also reported that one of the attackers was a native of the near abroad, and three more were citizens of Russia. They received Russian citizenship nine years ago. At the moment, all four are accused of attempted murder.
A video of the incident in the Novye Vatutinki area appeared online on November 5. The footage shows how the man, trying to protect the child, offers to fight one on one, but the attackers were not convinced.