Sentence for illegal possession of firearms

Case no. 65/2022
Judgment delivered on 5 January 2023

The Prosecution Service
vs.
T

T had, among other things, been in possession of four firearms, three of which were loaded, in his home. He had acquired the firearms and the ammunition in the course of a few years and had fired at least one of them to check if it worked.

The High Court sentenced him to imprisonment for two years and nine months and expulsion from Denmark with a permanent entry ban.

The Supreme Court increased the sentence to three years’ imprisonment, considering, in particular, the number of firearms with ammunition that had been in his possession.

With regard to the issue of expulsion, the Supreme Court concluded that the nature and severity of the offence committed by T outweighed the reasons for not expelling him, including his strong ties to Denmark. T was therefore ordered to leave Denmark.

The question was then whether he should be issued a permanent or a time-limited entry ban. The Supreme Court stated that expelling T with a permanent entry ban would not be in contravention of Denmark’s international obligations, especially considering the facts that T only moved to Denmark when he was 35 years old, that he had a good potential to make a life for himself in his home country, England, that he would be able to maintain his relationship with his Danish family through visits to England etc., and that his offence was serious and not arbitrary.

On those grounds, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the High Court, except for the increased prison sentence of three years.