Article 353 – Resistance, Threat or Violence Against a Protector of Public Order
Article 353 of the Criminal Code of Georgia protects the activity of protectors of public order and representatives of authority. Under this article, resistance to a police officer, an officer of the special penitentiary service or another representative of authority – with the aim of obstructing the protection of public order, stopping or changing his activity, or compelling him to perform a clearly unlawful act, committed by violence or the threat of violence – is punished. In practice this is one of the most frequently applied articles in connection with detention episodes.
Two directions are built into the name of the article itself: resistance, and violence or threat. For the qualification under the first part, the act must be committed by violence or the threat of violence – which means that a mere refusal to obey, without violence, is not assessed under the first part of this article. This distinction is fundamental for the defense.