The court sentenced poet Zviad Ratiani to 2 years in prison.

In particular, the Tbilisi City Court reclassified the charge against poet Zviad Ratiani, who was accused of attacking a police officer, under Article 353, Part 1 [Resistance, threat, or violence against a public order defender or other representative of the government] of the Criminal Code and found him guilty of the aforementioned charge.

By the decision of Judge Giorgi Gelashvili, he was sentenced to 2 years in prison. According to the judge, the punishment must serve its purpose, therefore the fine would have been “disproportionate.”

For information, the aforementioned article is punishable by a fine or house arrest for a term of up to two years or imprisonment for a term of two to six years.

Poet Zviad Ratiani was arrested on June 23 on charges of assaulting a police officer. The prosecutor's office accuses Zviad Ratiani of assaulting police officer Teimuraz Meshvelashvili. According to the prosecution, Ratiani hit Teimuraz Meshvelashvili in the face.