Violent Extortion and Criminal Prosecution: Comparative Insights from Positive Law and Islamic Criminal Law

This study aims to review criminal acts of extortion accompanied by violence and threats from the perspective of Indonesian positive law and Islamic criminal law, whether committed by individuals or groups. The problem formulation focuses on the mechanisms for imposing sanctions and regulating punishment for extortion accompanied by violence in both legal systems. The method used is normative legal research with a doctrinal approach and relevant legislation. The results of the study show that Indonesian positive law regulates acts of extortion with violence in Article 368 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of four years, while Article 369 carries a maximum sentence of nine years. In Islamic criminal law, similar acts are associated with jarimah hirabah, so that the main sanction is ta’zir, the degree and form of which is left to the ijtihad qadhi; if the act causes physical disability, diyat is imposed. If it results in death, qishash may be imposed, unless the victim’s family forgives the perpetrator and demands payment of diyat. The recommendations from this study include that further research should be conducted empirically, analyzing state court decisions and qadhi practices, to assess the consistency of the application of sanctions and the factors that influence the judge’s considerations.