Responsibility for unlawful actions against internal affairs officers

In modern society, with broad access to information resources, citizens possess a sufficiently high level of legal literacy. However, as practice shows, when studying legislation, publicistic literature, and communicating via the Internet, citizens' interest is focused on their rights and the enforcement of these rights. The existence of certain duties and restrictions, as well as the existence of certain rights of other persons, including officials, often goes unnoticed.

In turn, failure to fulfill one's duties or the lawful demands of other persons may entail administrative, and sometimes criminal, liability.

In particular, everyone is aware of the duty of internal affairs officers, enshrined in the Law "On Internal Affairs Bodies," to ensure public order, the safety of individuals, society, and the state. However, they ignore the fact that the legislation, the norms of the aforementioned Law, grant internal affairs bodies certain powers to fulfill the tasks assigned to them.

Lawful orders and demands of an internal affairs officer, when performing their duties, are subject to execution.

Disobedience to such an order or demand entails administrative liability under Article 24.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the sanction of which provides for the possibility of applying penalties such as a fine of 2 to 100 base units, or community service, or administrative arrest.

Resistance to an internal affairs officer or another person protecting public order constitutes a crime provided for by Article 363 of the Criminal Code and is punishable by a fine, or arrest, or restriction of liberty for up to three years, or deprivation of liberty for the same term. The same act, committed by a group of persons or associated with the use of violence or the threat of its use, is qualified under Part 2 of Article 363 of the Criminal Code and is punishable by restriction of liberty for up to five years or deprivation of liberty for up to seven years.

It is also worth remembering that violence or the threat of violence against an internal affairs officer or their

close persons with the aim of obstructing his lawful activities or forcing him to change the nature of these activities, or out of revenge for performing official duties, are also criminally punishable acts and entail liability under Art. 364 of the Criminal Code. The commission of this crime is punishable by arrest, or restriction of liberty for up to five years, or imprisonment for up to seven years.

Senior Assistant Prosecutor of the region for supervision over the enforcement of legislation on crime prevention and other offenses I.V. Kryukovskaya