The Reykjavík District Court has convicted three men for intentionally setting fire to a Tesla vehicle in Reykjavík, the capital and largest city of Iceland. The verdict, first reported by Mannlíf, concerns an act of arson that took place in August 2023.
The court sentenced the men to suspended prison terms ranging from six to eight months for the offence. According to media reports including mbl.is, all three defendants denied the charges in court.
The incident involved a 2020 Tesla Model 3 that was set on fire while stationary and unattended in Reykjavík during the night and early morning hours. The court found that the men targeted the vehicle as an act of revenge related to the work of its owner, a police investigator serving in the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police narcotics unit.
There is some uncertainty in public reporting about the identity of the Tesla’s owner, with some outlets naming a female officer whose partner also reportedly had access to the car, and others citing a male investigator. None of the reports provided the precise monetary value of the destroyed vehicle.
Background
Reykjavík was officially founded as a trading town in 1786 and today has a population of around 140,000, making it the country’s largest city. The Reykjavík Metropolitan Police district, the largest division of the Icelandic Police, is responsible for law enforcement in the capital and surrounding region. The national police organisation operates under the National Commissioner on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
Sources
- Mannlíf (first reported) in Icelandic
- mbl.is in Icelandic
- Vísir in Icelandic
- DV in Icelandic
Image: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · licence, original (resized) Illustrative image.
