Mass brawls, which are typical occurrences during football matches, protests, or in nightclubs, often lead to bodily harm caused by hooliganism, and although rare, sometimes result in the death of the victim. Official statistics from the National Statistical Institute for 2021 show that bodily harm ranks seventh in terms of the number of convictions among all crimes provided for in the Penal Code.
Cases from the law firm of caused bodily harm by hooliganism motives
The criminal lawyers at Silvia Petkova Sole Proprietorship Law Firm have extensive experience in defending defendants accused of causing bodily harm for hooliganism, as well as hooliganism itself.
Case 1:
Ivaylo and Martin*, along with a group of their friends, went to a disco where they consumed large amounts of alcohol. An unknown young man began to persistently harass one of the girls in their group. The two repeatedly warned him to stop, but the young man did not change his behavior. Finally, Martin got angry and pushed the young man away, saying, “Get lost!” Seeing the altercation between the two, five people from the young man’s group approached Martin, and one of them attempted to punch him in the face.
Martin managed to dodge the blow, and at that moment Ivaylo intervened, delivering a powerful blow to the attacker’s jaw, causing him to fall to the ground and briefly lose consciousness. A mass brawl ensued between the two groups, which ended with Ivaylo and Martin being detained for 24 hours at the nearest police station.
Initially, Ivaylo was charged with causing moderate bodily harm for hooliganism, and Martin was charged with causing minor bodily harm for hooliganism. With the assistance of a criminal lawyer from the Silvia Petkova Law Firm and following an investigation, the pre-trial proceedings against the two were ultimately terminated.
Case 2:
On his way home from work, Stanislav* noticed an illegally parked car right in front of the building where he lives. He decided to “mark” the violation by lifting the car’s windshield wipers. Just as Stanislav had lifted one windshield wiper and was about to lift the other, the owner of the car appeared, accompanied by two other men, who began to insult and swear at Stanislav, punching and kicking him repeatedly in the body and head.
During the beating, Stanislav fainted twice, and after it ended, he fainted twice more. With the assistance of a criminal lawyer from the Silvia Petkova Law Firm, a complaint was filed with the prosecutor’s office, on the basis of which a criminal case was brought against Stanislav’s attackers for causing moderate bodily harm with hooligan motives.
* In order to preserve attorney-client privilege, the names have been changed.
When is bodily harm caused by hooliganism?
In order for the crime to be classified as causing bodily harm for hooliganistic reasons, one act is necessary:
- yes is caused severe, moderate or minor bodily harm;
- it constitutes an indecent act that grossly violates public order and expresses clear disrespect for society.
When is there serious bodily harm caused by hooliganism motives?
Bodily injury is severe when it causes permanent impairment of consciousness; blindness; deafness; loss of speech; infertility; disfigurement leading to irreversible impairment of speech or a sensory organ; loss of a kidney, spleen, or lung lobe; loss or mutilation of a limb; permanent general impairment of health that is not life-threatening.
When is present moderate bodily injury by hooliganism motives?
Physical damage is considered moderate when it causes permanent impairment of vision or hearing; permanent impairment of speech, movement of the limbs, torso or neck, or function of the reproductive organs without causing infertility; fracture of the jaw or loss of teeth, without which chewing or speaking is difficult; disfigurement of the face or other parts of the body; permanent health disorder that is not life-threatening, or health disorder that is temporarily life-threatening; injuries that penetrate the cranial, thoracic, and abdominal cavities.
When is there minor bodily harm caused by hooliganism motives?
Physical damage is minor in all other cases, as it may be expressed in temporary disruption of health, not life-threatening or in pain and suffering.
Example:
Broken nose bodily injury – minor
Broken nose with displacement of nasal bones, leading to a change in the appearance of the face – moderate bodily injury.
A case for minor bodily injury, when not caused by hooliganism, may be brought before the court by filing a private complaint for minor bodily injury.
When does causing bodily harm constitute indecent behavior that grossly violates public order and expresses clear disrespect for society?
Causing bodily harm may be characterized as hooliganism when committed in a public place in a demonstration of impunity and disregard for established rules protecting good morals in society, physical integrity, honor, and dignity, and in the absence of a personal motive in the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim.
Penalties and protection in cases of bodily harm caused by hooliganism
The penalties for causing bodily harm for hooliganistic reasons vary depending on the severity of the injury.
When the bodily injury is severe, the punishment is three to fifteen years’ imprisonment.
The severity of the punishment shows that with proper and professional defense by an experienced criminal lawyer, it is possible to achieve the following more favorable outcomes in the event of a conviction:
- a suspended sentence, if the minimum penalty provided for by law is imposed and the other conditions for this are met;
- imposing a penalty below the minimum threshold.
When the bodily injury is moderate, the punishment is two to ten years’ imprisonment. The possibilities for obtaining a more favorable punishment when a conviction is handed down are the same as for grievous bodily harm.
When caused minor bodily injury in the form of a temporary disorder of health, not dangerous to life the punishment is up to three a17> years deprivation of liberty.
The severity of the punishment shows that with proper and professional defense by an experienced criminal lawyer, it is possible to achieve the following more favorable outcomes in the event of a conviction:
- exemption from criminal liability with imposition of administrative penalty “fine”;
- replacement of the imposed penalty of “imprisonment” with probation (this would be of significant importance when minor bodily harm has been caused by hooliganism during the probation period of a suspended sentence); when imposing a probation sentence, the court shall not have the right to enforce the prison sentence under the suspended sentence, i.e. in this case, the perpetrator shall not go to prison for any of the crimes;
- suspension of the execution of a sentence of imprisonment (conditional sentence).
When minor bodily harm is caused by hooliganism in the form of pain and suffering, the punishment is up to one year of imprisonment or probation. Since in this case the penalties are provided for alternatively, the court will decide whether to impose imprisonment or probation. In this case, it is also possible to be exempted from criminal liability by imposing an administrative penalty.
In all cases, the possibilities for achieving a more favorable sentence or acquittal are assessed in light of the facts and circumstances of the specific case after a detailed examination of the evidence.
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