Court to rule in fireworks case next week

The court will deliver its verdict in a fireworks case in a week, Kringvarp Føroya reported after the case was heard on Monday. The defendant admits breaching the fireworks regulations but denies violating section 252 of the Penal Code.

Prosecutors are seeking five months in prison and the confiscation of the fireworks. They cited two Eastern High Court rulings that imposed six-month prison sentences. The defence says the fireworks offence should carry a fine of between 1,000 and 5,000 kroner. If the defendant is convicted on the second charge, the defence argues, a suspended sentence would be appropriate.

The fireworks are estimated to be worth more than 200,000 kroner. The defence said confiscating them would have serious financial consequences for the defendant.

The defendant told the court he had sold fireworks since he was young. After moving abroad in 2006, he returned to Vágur in 2014. The village’s New Year committee contacted him about help buying fireworks for its celebrations. He said he did not have the money to buy fireworks at the time, but in 2017 he bought some for the committee. By then, however, it had already purchased fireworks from another supplier.

He said he tried to sell the fireworks to others at the same price, but the committee was unhappy and stopped buying from him. He was left with a large stock that he could not sell. He initially stored it in a container in Hov, then moved it when SEV was due to build a battery station there. He said the municipality knew he had a large quantity of fireworks at home and that several people, including police officers, had bought from him.

The defendant said he had tried to find another place to store the fireworks and had contacted Sumbiar Municipality. Police later searched his home and seized the stock. A specialist from the Ammunition Clearance Service testified for the prosecution, saying the required safety distance for such a quantity of fireworks was 230.29 metres. The prosecutor noted that a kindergarten is just over 100 metres from the defendant’s home.