Court doubles arson sentence, rules ‘jealousy’ not mitigating factor

The court of appeal has increased a 26-year-old man’s sentence for setting fire to a car in Nicosia from one year to two, ruling that jealousy – his apparent motive – cannot count as a mitigating factor. The one-year term had been suspended, and the appeal court left that suspension in place. The man pleaded guilty before the Nicosia district court, yet attorney-general George Savvides appealed on two grounds, saying the sentence was manifestly insufficient and that the trial court was wrong to suspend it; the first ground succeeded and the second failed. The court heard that in November 2023, following an incident in August that year, the man took a can of petrol from the basement of his apartment building. He went to a car park in Nicosia and set the vehicle alight at 1.30am, before dumping the can and his clothes in his neighbourhood. The district court had treated the offence as having been committed in a fit of rage without premeditation. The court of appeal disagreed, saying the time between the trigger for his anger and the offence, and the time he took to prepare, did not support the finding that he acted “in the heat of the moment”. It said the time and place created a danger to the public and nearby property, which the first court failed to consider. The judges described the circumstances as “an aggravating factor” and called arson a serious offence because of the risk to property and life. They found the original sentence did not match the gravity of the offence or the need for “deterrent sentences”. On suspension, the court said his practical remorse and later conduct justified keeping it.