Lisbon appeal court reduces sentence for Dutch citizen caught with knife at airport

A Dutch man who was caught carrying a knife over two years ago at Lisbon airport had his prison sentence reduced to three years and a half by Lisbon's Court of Appeal on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old Dutch citizen, Gima Her Calunga, was detained at the Humberto Delgado airport in Lisbon in the summer of 2014 for carrying a knife.

The man of Angolan origin, was sentenced in May 2016 by the Court of First Instance to three and a half years for affecting the safety of air transport, and one year and nine months for possessing a weapon. The judges at the time decided to apply a single penalty of four years and a half in prison.

However, Calunga's defender and the Public Ministry appealed to the Lisbon Court of Appeal, which decided to acquit the crime of possessing a weapon, while maintaining the three years and a half sentence for the crime of affecting the safety of air transport, Lusa news agency reported on Tuesday.

The ruling will take place on Thursday, according to Lusa, and means that the defendant, who has been in preventive prison for two years and eight months, will soon benefit from conditional release. Endit