The National Prosecutor, who advocated for the man to be convicted of a serious offense against the knife law, describes the verdict as important.
"The courts have so far ruled differently and the legal situation has therefore been unclear. The verdict will facilitate the work of prosecutors, as well as the courts. If a law amendment is eventually needed, it is nothing I have an opinion about at present," says National Prosecutor Katarina Johansson Welin in a press release.
The incident occurred in October last year in Västerås. The man was stopped by the police and was carrying a powerful laser pointer at the time of arrest, which according to the indictment was intended to be used "as a weapon in crimes against life or health".
Both the district court and the court of appeal dismissed the indictment, among other things, with reference to the fact that laser pointers cannot be covered by the knife law. The circumstances of the arrest also did not suggest that the pointer would be used in a crime, according to the courts.
