Criminal Code > TITLE III MILITARY CRIMES 2

CHAPTER II CRIMES AGAINST THE DEFENCE FORCES AND MEMEBERS THEREOF

Section I- crimes against Members of the Defence Forces on Active Duty

Article 323- Compelling breaches of duty.

Whoever, by the use of threats or violence, compels a member of the Defence Forces to execute his duty improperly or prevents him from executing a duty he is bound to perform.

is punishable with simple imprisonment of fine.

Article 324- Attack on a Member of the Defence Forces while on Active Duty.

(1) Whoever, without provocation, threatens, attacks or assaults a member of the Defence Forces in the execution of his duties,

Is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding three years.

(2) Where the criminal is armed and threatens the victim with a weapon, or uses physical violence, he is punishable with simple imprisonment from six months to three years.

Where the attack results in serious bodily harm or in death, the general provisions concerning assessment of sentence in such cases shall apply (Art. 66).

Article 325- Aggravated Cases.

Where a crime under Article 323 or 324 is committed:

(a) against a guard on duty, a sentry, a patrol or a member of the military police or other military authority in the execution of his duty; or

(b) against an officer or commanding officer recognizable by his functions or by his badges of rank,

the criminal is punishable with simple imprisonment for at least three months in the case of threat or unarmed attack which has done no injury to the victim’s person or health, and for at least six months in the case of armed or violent attack.

Section II- Crimes against the Defence Forces and their Auxiliary Services

Article 326- Breach of Legal or Contractual Obligations.

(1) Whoever intentionally:

(a) fails, without proper cause, to comply with a legal obligation to hand over or deliver animals, vehicles, provisions or any other supplies vehicles, provisions or any other supplies necessary to the military service or to the Defence Forces; or

(b) fails to perform his contractual obligations towards the Defece Forces or their services, be they in respect to deliveries or supplies of provisions, equipment, material or of any other objects, or in respect to installations, buildings, or public works of any kind; or

(c) in general, performs the tasks, services or deliveries incumbent upon him supervises them, or takes or makes delivery of them without abiding by his contractual obligations or without due care with resultant delay or default harmful to the Defence Forces,

is punishable with simple imprisonment, or fine. In more serious cases the criminal is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years.

(2) Where the crime is committed negligently, the punishment shall be simple imprisonment or fine, according to the gravity of the case.

(3) Where a juridical person commits the crime it shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions of Article 90 of this Code.

Article 327- Sabotage.

(1) Whoever intentionally:

(a) destroys, damages or renders unfit for use installations, material, equipment or any other object used by the Defence Forces; or

(b) prevents an official or an authority from carrying on his or its activities on behalf of the Defence Forces, or disturbs or endangers such activities,

is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years.

(2) Where the crime is committed negligently, the punishment shall be simple imprisonment or fine.

(3) Acts intended to impair the defensive power of the State are punishable under Article 247.

Article 328- Traffic in Military Material.

Whoever intentionally or unlawfully lends, pledges, receives on loan or in pledge objects requisitioned, utilized or sequestrated by the administrative services of the Defence Forces,

Is punishable with simple imprisonment or fine.

(1) Whoever sells materials, acquires, or fully consumes or makes away with, destroys, or puts out of commission, the objects mentioned in sub-article (1) above,

Is punishable with simple imprisonment for at least six months.

(2) In grave cases, the punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years.

(3) Where a juridical person commits the crime it shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions of Article 90 of this Code.

Article 329- Unauthorized manufacture of, and traffic in, Military Uniforms, Insignia or Decorations.

(1) Whoever with out authority manufactures, stores, offers or sells, buys or acquires in any other manner, military uniforms, insignia or decorations,

Is punishable with simple imprisonment or fine.

(2) Where a juridical person commits the crime it shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions of Article 90 of this Code.

Article 330- Unauthorized Wearing of Military Uniforms, Decorations or Insignia.

Whoever without authority wears a military uniform, decorations or insignia,

Is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding five hundred Birr.

Article 331- Disregard of Military Measures.

(1) Whoever contravenes regulations, orders, or instructions issued by the Government or by the competent civil or military authority on grounds of military necessity or to safeguard military interests,

is punishable, where he is not punishable under any other provision of this Code, with simple imprisonment not exceeding one year, or with fine not exceeding five hundred Birr.

(2) Where the crime is committed negligently, the punishment shall be simple imprisonment not exceeding six months, or fine not exceeding three hundred Birr.

Article 332- Incitement to Disregard Military Orders.

(1) Whoever incites, be it in public or not, anyone to disregard military orders, to acts of indiscipline or to breaches of military duties,

is punishable with simple imprisonment or fine.

(2) Whoever organizes a band, a movement or an illegal assembly to these ends, or takes part in its organization, or subscribes to its schemes, or adheres to it or contributes to such activities,

is punishable with simple imprisonment, or, where the act could have caused grave danger, with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years.

(3) Where a juridical person commits the crime it shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions of Article 90 of this Code.

Article 333- Disregard of Prohibitions Protecting Specified Military Zones and Objects.

Whoever, without authority, or unlawfully:

(1) enters an establishment, a work or any other site, access to which is forbidden by the military authorities or on military grounds,

is punishable with simple imprisonment or fine.

(2) Makes, takes, prepares, reproduces, publishes or communicates to another or others an account, sketch, photograph or any representation whatsoever of such establishment, work or site, or of the installation, equipment or other objects therein,

Is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding fifteen years.

Article 334- Falsification or Suppression of General Orders or Instructions.

(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 379 and 381, whoever intentionally:

(a) forges, falsifies, destroys or makes away with an order to report for enlistment or for military service, a military delivery order or an instruction of any kind intended for citizens liable to military service, or relating to the interests or needs or the Defence Forces; or

(b) makes use of such forged or falsified order or instruction,

is punishable with simple imprisonment, or, in the gravest cases, with

rigorous imprisonment not exceeding seven years.

(2) Where the crime is committed negligently, the punishment shall be simple imprisonment not exceeding six months or fine.

Article 335- Failure to report Crimes Against the Defence Forces and Breaches of Military Obligations.

(1) Whoever, being aware of plans to commit or of the commission of mutiny or desertion, fails, except in cases of force majeure, to report them to the authorities or makes no attempt to prevent their commission or to cause the criminal to be arrested,

is punishable with simple imprisonment, where the crime of mutiny or desertion is at least attempted, or in serious cases, with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding three years.

(2) Official or professional secrecy is not defence to a charge under this Article. In time of emergency, general mobilization or war, kinship or close ties of affection cannot serve as special mitigating circumstances (Art. 83).

(3) Failure to report treason or espionage is punishable under the provisions of this Code on security of the State and protection of the national Defence Forces (Art. 254).

Article 336- Disclosure of Military Secrets.

(1) Whoever, in cases other than those of treason and espionage more severely punishable under Articles 248-252 of this Code, communicates or delivers to an unauthorized person or to the general public documents or information of any kind which are not a matter of common knowledge and which by their nature are military secrets,

Is punishable with rigorous imprisonment for not less than five years.

(2) Where the crime relates to documents or information of a restricted kind, or where it is committed by a person closely acquainted with them, or where the crime has or might have consequences or exceptional gravity,

The punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment for not less than ten years.

(3) Where the crime is committed negligently, the punishment shall be simple imprisonment not exceeding one year for the act under sub-article (1), and not exceeding three years for the act under sub-article (2).

Article 337- False or Tendentious Information.

Whoever, when troops have been mobilized or are on active duty, puts forth or disseminates information which he knows to be inaccurate or tendentious, with intent to obstruct or thwart measures ordered in the military interest, to impede or endanger movements or operations of the Defence Forces, to incite troops to indiscipline or insubordination, or to foment disorder and spread alarm among the population.

is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years, or, in grave cases, with rigorous imprisonment up to life.

Section III- Common Provisions

Article 338- Aggravation of Punishment in Cases of State of Emergency or War.

(1) Where any of the crimes punishable under the preceding two sections, committed against a member of the Defence Forces on active duty, against the Defence Forces or their auxiliary services, or against military interests, is done in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, and where not specific provision prescribes a more severe punishment, the criminal is punishable as follows:

(a) instead of simple imprisonment, rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years;

(b) where rigorous imprisonment is prescribed, rigorous imprisonment not exceeding double the prescribed maximum, without prejudice to the maximum period specified in the General Part of this Code.

In the cases of failure to report plans to commit or the commission of mutiny or desertion (Art. 335), rigorous imprisonment shall not exceed ten years.

(2) Where the crime committed negligently is punishable, the Court may impose punishment as follows:

(a) instead of simple imprisonment not exceeding three years, rigorous imprisonment not exceeding three years; or

(b) instead of simple imprisonment not exceeding five years, rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years.

(3) Where the Court imposes a fine, it may double the maximum amount laid down in the relevant provision of this Code.

Article 339- Crimes Committed for Gain.

In all cases punishable with rigorous imprisonment and when the criminal has acted for gain, the Court may in addition impose a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand Birr, having regard to the gravity of the crime and the criminal’s financial resources.