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Norway court gives wind power opponent prison sentence for harassment

The Local Norway
The Local Norway - [email protected]
Norway court gives wind power opponent prison sentence for harassment
File photo: AFP

A man in Norway has been given a custodial sentence for intimidating an engineer from the Trønderergi company.

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The engineer was working for the company on a new wind farm at Frøya off Norway’s west coast, newspaper VG reports.

According to the Fosen District Court judgement, the man drove recklessly and close to the engineer’s car on May 14th last year on a nearby island, Hitra.

He overtook the engineer before "repeatedly braking sharply in front of her" the court wrote in its verdict.

The woman was on her way home from work when the incident occurred.

The man comes from the area and is an active opponent of wind power, according to VG’s report.

The Frøya wind farm is the subject of substantial opposition amongst local residents, the newspaper writes. The facility is scheduled to be completed and operational by the end of the year.

In court, the accused said he had driven from Trondheim and that the purpose of the trip had been to go to Frøya to show sympathy for protesters there.

The defendant acknowledged that he was driving past the offender and that he had slowed down, but denied braking aggressively.

According to the court’s verdict, the woman said that she was scared and “feared for her life” due to the actions, and contacted police from her car.

The man was sentenced to 75 days in jail, with the court concluding that his driving led to "several situations where serious traffic accidents involving personal injury or major material damage could easily have occurred" and that "the car was used for the purpose of intimidating and threatening the target".

His driver's license was revoked for six months and he was ordered to pay 10,000 kroner in compensation and 5,000 kroner in costs.

He is yet to decide whether to appeal the sentence, defence lawyer Jon Reidar Aae told VG.

READ ALSO: Why Norway imported more energy than it exported in 2019

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