Online Threats and Extortion
"Pay or I send your photos to your family." "Delete your post or you will see what happens." Messages like these land on phones in Baghdad and the provinces every day, and most victims hesitate to complain for fear of scandal. The office of Ali Barakat in al-Yarmouk, Baghdad, explains how Iraqi law treats them.
Three levels of threat
Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 arranges threats in three graded articles. The heaviest is article 430: imprisonment of up to seven years, or detention, for threatening someone with a felony against his person or property or against another, or with attributing or exposing matters damaging to his honour, where the threat comes with a demand, an order or a call to refrain from something. A threat in an anonymous message or attributed to a secret group is treated the same way. Article 431 covers the same threat without an accompanying demand. Article 432 covers any other threat by word, act or gesture, in writing, orally or through someone else.
Extortion for money
Where the aim is money, article 452 applies: imprisonment of up to ten years, or detention, for forcing someone by threat to hand over money or other things, with a higher maximum where force or coercion is used. An extorter who demands an e-wallet transfer in exchange for not publishing faces this article alongside article 430.
Anonymous accounts
Many extorters use accounts under false names or foreign numbers. Article 430 itself covers threats sent in messages without the sender's name. Identifying who is behind an account or number is work for the competent authorities on the investigating judge's order, not for the victim. Victims are therefore better served by preserving what they have and handing it over than by trying to lure or confront the extorter.
The complaint
Article 3 of Criminal Procedure Code No. 23 of 1971 makes proceedings for threats depend on the victim's complaint, unless the victim is a public servant targeted because of his work. Article 6 sets the deadline at three months from the victim learning of the offence. Forcing someone to hand over money under article 452 is not on the article 3 list, so proceedings there can also start on a report. A complaint may be lodged with the investigating judge, an investigator or a police station under article 1. See Police station or investigating judge.
What to preserve first
Screenshots showing the messages with the account name, number, link, date and time; a full export of the chat rather than fragments; any receipt for money already paid; and the phone itself, without deleting the app or resetting it. If the extorter threatens to publish photos, sending new ones or paying in the hope he will stop rarely ends it; demands often repeat. See Electronic evidence before the investigating court.
If the photos are published
If the extorter carries out the threat and publishes photos or chats, article 438 on publishing private life is added to the threat charge. See Publishing private photos and chats.
Reconciliation
Article 195 of the Criminal Procedure Code requires the judge's or court's approval for reconciliation in threat cases even where the penalty does not exceed a year. Article 196 rejects reconciliation tied to a condition. A promise to delete in return for withdrawing the complaint is accepted only by judicial decision. Once reconciliation is accepted, article 198 gives it the effect of an acquittal, so its record should carry a clear undertaking to delete the photos and chats the extorter holds.
Legal basis and sources
- Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 (Official Gazette No. 1778 of 15/12/1969) — Articles 430, 431, 432, 438 and 452
- Criminal Procedure Code No. 23 of 1971 (Official Gazette No. 2004 of 31/5/1971) — Articles 1, 3, 6, 195, 196 and 198
Frequently asked questions
What is the penalty for online extortion in Iraq?
There is no internet-specific text; article 430 applies to threats coupled with a demand, and article 452 to forcing someone to hand over money by threat.
Must I know who the extorter is to complain?
No. The complaint is made with the messages, numbers and accounts you have, and identification follows on the investigating judge's order.
Should I pay the extorter to make it stop?
Paying does not guarantee it stops, and any receipt should be kept as evidence for the complaint.
Related topics and articles
- 01Publishing Private Photos and ChatsPublishing private photos and chats without consent under article 438 of the Iraqi Penal Code: private life, disclosing messages and calls, professional secrets, the complaint and compensation.
- 02Electronic Evidence before the Investigating CourtHow screenshots, chats and recordings are presented to an investigating judge in Iraq: the court's conviction, technical expertise, production orders, electronic document conditions and preserving evidence.
- 03Police Station or Investigating JudgeWhere to file a criminal complaint in Iraq and how police stations, investigators and investigating judges differ: who receives complaints, territorial jurisdiction, arrest and detention, and following up.
- 04Online Defamation and InsultDefamation, insult and smearing on Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp under articles 433 to 436 of the Iraqi Penal Code: the difference, publicity, proving truth, the three-month complaint and compensation.
- 05Electronic FraudOnline fraud under Iraqi law: article 456 of the Penal Code, fake sellers, verification codes, mule accounts, territorial jurisdiction and recovering money.