Since 1 July 2015 there has been no such thing as a «falta» of threats or coercion under Spanish law. Organic Law 1/2015, which reformed the Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), repealed the former article 620, which punished minor threats or coercion with a fine of ten to twenty days, and moved that conduct to articles 171.7 and 172.3 as minor offences. The fine became one to three months, the limitation period rose from six months to one year and a conviction, even for a minor offence, leaves a criminal record in Spain. Serious threats under articles 169 and 170 and coercion under article 172.1 were already crimes before the reform and keep their prison sentences. Whoever threatens you today on WhatsApp or forcibly stops you from doing something you are entitled to do answers for a criminal offence before a Spanish court, with a criminal trial and a record, and that changes both what you can expect from the court and what is in your interest to do.
Threats, coercion, blackmail and extortion, four offences that get confused
A threat is the announcement of a future, unjust and possible harm that depends on the will of the person announcing it and is intended to intimidate. Article 169 punishes the threat of a harm that is itself a crime (killing, injuring, sexual assault, disclosing your private life, damaging your property) and distinguishes whether it is made under a condition, for instance «pay me or I will smash your face», or without one. If the harm announced is not a crime but the threat is conditional and demands something you do not owe, article 171.1 applies. Article 170 aggravates the threat when it is aimed at frightening a group or the residents of a town.
Coercion under article 172.1 consists of violently preventing you from doing what the law does not forbid, or forcing you to do what you do not want to do, whether just or unjust. Case law treats force against property and intimidation as violence, so changing the lock so you cannot get into your home, cutting off your electricity to force you out or blocking your way with a car are coercion even if nobody lays a hand on you. If the coercion is aimed at preventing you from enjoying your home or exercising a fundamental right, the sentence is imposed in its upper half.
Blackmail under article 171.2 is the demand for money or any reward under threat of disclosing private facts that are not public and could damage your reputation or credit. Extortion under article 243 goes a step further and punishes whoever, for gain, forces you by violence or intimidation to perform a legal act or transaction that harms your assets, for example signing an acknowledgement of debt or a transfer. Finally, article 172 ter, introduced by the same 2015 reform, criminalises stalking where someone watches you, follows you or contacts you so insistently that it disrupts your daily life.
What sentence each conduct carries
| Conduct | Article of the Criminal Code | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Serious conditional threat (harm that is itself a crime) | 169.1 | Prison of 1 to 5 years if the aim is achieved, 6 months to 3 years if not. Upper half if made in writing, by telephone or any means of communication |
| Serious unconditional threat | 169.2 | Prison of 6 months to 2 years |
| Blackmail | 171.2 | Prison of 2 to 4 years if the demand is obtained, 4 months to 2 years if not |
| Coercion | 172.1 | Prison of 6 months to 3 years or a fine of 12 to 24 months |
| Minor threat or minor coercion | 171.7 and 172.3 | Fine of 1 to 3 months |
| Extortion | 243 | Prison of 1 to 5 years |
Two details in the table matter more than they seem. The first is that a serious threat made in writing or by telephone, which covers WhatsApp, social media and email, is punished in its upper half, so the medium the threatener uses most is precisely the one that hurts him most. The second is that the line between a serious and a minor threat is not drawn by the medium or the tone but by the seriousness, persistence and credibility of the harm announced in the specific context. An isolated «you will see» in a road rage argument usually ends up as a minor offence or nothing. The same phrase, repeated for weeks by someone who knows your address and your routine, can be a serious threat.
Minor threats and the weight of your complaint
The minor offences of articles 171.7 and 172.3 are only prosecuted if you, or your legal representative, file a complaint. Without a complaint there are no proceedings, and the victim’s pardon before judgment extinguishes criminal liability (article 130.1.5 of the Criminal Code). That gives you control over the matter, but also a deadline, because a minor offence becomes time-barred after one year. The trial is held before the investigating court without a lawyer being required, in a fast format with a single hearing, and the conviction is limited to a fine calculated on the offender’s means. Whoever receives a summons in this type of case has a problem of their own, which I cover in what to do if you are summoned to a minor offence trial, because in threat cases cross-complaints are common.
When the threat is serious, the offence is prosecuted ex officio. Withdrawing the complaint does not close the case, although your lack of cooperation may leave it without evidence.
When the person threatening you is your partner, ex-partner or a relative
The Criminal Code changes register if the offender and the victim are linked by one of the relationships listed in article 173.2, which covers spouses and former partners, ascendants, descendants, siblings and people living in the same household. A minor threat by a man against his wife or partner, current or former, is punished with prison of six months to one year or community service of 31 to 80 days, with deprivation of the right to hold weapons in every case (article 171.4), and the same applies to minor coercion (article 172.2). A minor threat with weapons or other dangerous instruments against the other persons in article 173.2 carries prison of three months to one year (article 171.5). In all these cases your complaint is not required for prosecution.
The court and the procedure change too. If the victim is the woman and the offender her partner or ex-partner, the case goes to the specialised court for violence against women, and both in that case and in other family relationships threats and coercion are handled through the fast-track procedure, with arrest, statement and trial listing within days. That is the framework in which the protection order under article 544 ter of the Criminal Procedure Act is decided, which the court must rule on at a hearing held within 72 hours of the application. At the firm we act as private prosecution in these cases and, on the other side, we conduct the criminal defence of those who have been accused, and knowing both sides is what tells you which account holds up in court and which collapses at the first question.
Messages, audio and calls, how a threat is proved
A WhatsApp screenshot is admissible evidence, but only until the other side challenges it. The Supreme Court requires, when the authenticity of a screenshot is disputed, that the party producing it prove the message existed and has not been tampered with, and for that you need the original phone, with the conversation intact, available to the court or to an expert. A notarial certificate in which the notary examines the handset and transcribes the conversation covers that risk well when the message is decisive. Deleting the chat or blocking the contact before exporting the full conversation is the mistake that destroys the most evidence.
Recording the call or conversation in which you are threatened is lawful if you are one of the parties to it. The Constitutional Court accepted this in a doctrine dating back to 1984 that later case law maintains, on the reasoning that whoever speaks to you accepts the risk that you will keep what was said. What is not allowed is recording other people’s conversations or installing software on someone else’s phone, because that is a crime in itself and voids the evidence.
Witnesses who saw the threat, a medical report if you needed psychological care, and earlier complaints or messages showing a pattern complete the picture. If none of that exists and it is your word against theirs, a conviction is still possible, because the courts accept the victim’s testimony as sole evidence when it is consistent, credible and not driven by an ulterior motive, but that is the ground where most complaints are dismissed and where the difference between a prepared statement and an improvised one shows most.
What happens after you report it
The complaint is filed with the National Police, the Guardia Civil or the duty court, and in serious cases a formal criminal complaint («querella») is worth considering, as it lets you join the proceedings as a party from day one. From there the investigating court opens proceedings, summons the accused to give a statement as a suspect and, if there is a risk, can order a restraining measure under article 544 bis of the Criminal Procedure Act without any family relationship being required. Once the investigation is over, the case is either dismissed, which can be appealed, or sent to trial before the criminal court under the abbreviated procedure. In minor offences everything is concentrated in a single summons to trial.
Law 4/2015, the Statute of the Victim of Crime, gives you the right to be informed of every ruling, to appear as private prosecutor and to claim compensation within the criminal proceedings themselves. Without joining as a party, the prosecution rests solely with the Public Prosecutor, who may ask for less than you want or decline to appeal a dismissal. With your own lawyer, the case depends on nobody else.
Compensation
A criminal conviction carries civil liability under articles 109 and following of the Criminal Code. In threats and coercion the usual head is moral damage, which the judge quantifies without a scale according to the duration, intensity and impact on your life, and to that are added proven expenses, such as psychological treatment, changing the locks or security measures, and lost earnings if you stopped working. In extortion and blackmail you also recover what you handed over. Getting the judgment is half the journey, because collecting depends on the offender’s assets, which is what collecting from a debtor who says he has nothing is about.
What you can do today without waiting for anyone
Keep the phone with the conversations intact and make a full backup, not just screenshots. Do not delete or block until you have the export. Do not reply with a threat of your own, because the cross-complaint is the threatener’s favourite tool and turns your case into a stalemate. Do not pay or sign anything that is being demanded, since fulfilling the condition aggravates the offender’s sentence but weakens your position to recover what you handed over. Note the date, time and witnesses of each episode and, if you needed medical or psychological care, ask for the report. Do not post the threat on social media, because that can make you the accused, for insult or for disclosure of personal data.
What is at stake and what we do
On your own, the concrete risk is that the complaint is dismissed for lack of evidence, that the threat is classified as minor when it was serious, or that you end up in a cross-complaint in which you are also under investigation. In a threats or coercion case the firm assesses the classification that will hold, secures the digital evidence before it is lost, files the complaint or the «querella» and acts as private prosecutor through to judgment and collection of compensation. You can call +34 677 841 007 or write through the contact page. Bring the phone with the conversations undeleted, the names of any witnesses, medical reports if there are any and, if you have already reported it, a copy of the complaint and any summons you have received.
Frequently asked questions
Is a WhatsApp screenshot or an audio file valid evidence of a threat?
It is, but if the other side challenges its authenticity you will have to prove it, and for that you need the original phone with the conversation intact available to the court or an expert. A notarial certificate recording the conversation from the handset strengthens the evidence considerably. What destroys it is deleting the chat or blocking the contact before exporting the whole of it.
Can I record the call in which I am threatened and use it in court?
Yes, as long as you are a party to that conversation. The Constitutional Court has accepted since 1984 that recording what is said to you does not breach the secrecy of communications. You cannot record other people’s conversations or install software on someone else’s phone, because that is a crime and the evidence is voided.
How long does it take to get a restraining order for threats?
If the person threatening you is your partner, ex-partner or a relative, the protection order under article 544 ter of the Criminal Procedure Act is decided at a hearing that must be held within 72 hours of the application. Outside the family setting the court can order a restraining measure under article 544 bis at any point in the investigation, usually after taking the suspect’s statement, with no fixed statutory deadline.
Do I need a lawyer to report a threat and is it worth doing?
For filing the complaint and for a minor offence trial it is not compulsory. A lawyer is worth it when the threat is serious, when there is a partner or family relationship, when the evidence is digital and can be challenged, or when you want a restraining order or compensation, because without joining as a party the prosecution depends solely on the public prosecutor. It is not worth it for an isolated, minor episode with no witnesses or messages, where the complaint will be dismissed and the cost exceeds what you can obtain; in that case the useful thing is to document it and wait until a pattern exists.
I live outside Spain and am being threatened by someone in Spain. Can I report it without travelling, and in English?
Yes. The complaint is filed with the Spanish court or police where the offender is or where the threats are received, and you can do it through a lawyer with a power of attorney granted before a notary in your country or at a Spanish consulate, without coming to Spain. The complaint and the evidence must be in Spanish, so messages in another language are translated, and if the court needs your statement it can be taken by videoconference or through international judicial cooperation. We act for clients abroad and work in English.