Rovaniemi man sentenced to over five years in prison for samurai sword attack

A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to five years and five months in prison for a samurai sword attack in Rovaniemi that left another man severely injured, reports Finnish public broadcaster Yle. The Lapland District Court ruled that the victim, who survived with serious facial and shoulder injuries, was mistakenly targeted in the March assault.

The attack occurred late on the evening of March 13 outside the Pisto restaurant in central Rovaniemi. The court found that Dmitri Nazarov, 30, struck the victim with a katana sword, causing life-threatening injuries. The victim, an unrelated bystander, was not the intended target.

Two associates of Nazarov—a 38-year-old father and his 20-year-old son, who owns the weapon used—were acquitted. Prosecutors had initially sought 9–10 year sentences for all three on charges of attempted murder, but the court dismissed the case against the other two men.

Investigators believe the violence stemmed from a dispute over drug debts. The attackers claimed they were heavily intoxicated and mistakenly believed their intended target was at the restaurant. Prosecutor Maija Aarto told Yle in April that she had never encountered a case where a victim of such severe violence was attacked by mistake.

The Lapland District Court’s ruling can still be appealed to a higher court.