Geneva court has to reconsider 'lax' sentence

Thursday, 4 May 2023 06:30

The Federal Court has ruled a Geneva court was too lax in sentencing a climate protestor who damaged a bank building in 2018. Judges said there was no ‘honour’ in property damage.

Under the law, courts can take into consideration the motives of an offence. This was successfully argued in the initial case.

The protestor painted red hand prints on the building. The damage was assessed at CHF 2,000 – he was fined CHF 100.

Federal judges say it was not a trivial matter and ordered the Geneva court to reconsider.

The case was taken to the highest court in the country by Geneva prosecutors who believed the sentence was too light.

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