---
title: "Assault on Police Officer Defense"
url: "https://legal.ge/en/service/crim-criminal-law-en/assault-on-police-officer-defense-en"
field: "Criminal Law"
description: "Resistance and violence against police under Article 353 of the Criminal Code of Georgia: penalties from a fine up to 8 years and defense. Legal.ge."
reviewed: "2026-07-09"
updated: "2026-10-14"
publisher: "legal.ge"
---

# Assault on Police Officer Defense

> Source: legal.ge, https://legal.ge/en/service/crim-criminal-law-en/assault-on-police-officer-defense-en

## 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.

The full text is available on legal.ge after signing in: https://legal.ge/en/service/crim-criminal-law-en/assault-on-police-officer-defense-en

### What penalty applies to violence against a police officer?

Resistance committed by violence or the threat of violence against a police officer or another representative of authority is punished by a fine, house arrest for up to two years, or imprisonment from two to six years. Committed by a group or more than once – from five to eight years.

### Does refusal to obey entail liability?

The first part of this article requires that the resistance be committed by violence or the threat of violence. A mere refusal to obey, without violence, is not assessed under this part – although the question may be considered separately under other provisions.

### When is the offence considered committed more than once?

Under the note to the article, where it was preceded by the commission of an offence provided for by this article or by the related norm marked with a one. The preceding episode must be separately confirmed by the prosecution.

### What does a lawyer examine in such a case?

The lawfulness and proportionality of the protector's action, the substantiation of violence and of the aim, the episodes of group commission and repetition, and the conformity of the video material with the prosecution's version.

### Why do I need a lawyer in such a case?

The penalty extends from a fine up to eight years, and moving to the second part requires only the establishment of aggravating circumstances. The lawyer's aim is to bring the case down to the first part or to challenge the qualification altogether.