Man sentenced to two years in prison for firing a gun in celebration of the new year

A Turkish Cypriot man was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday for firing a gun into the air as part of his new year’s celebrations.

The verdict against the defendant D.S, was delivered by a three-judge panel at the Lefkosa district court on Monday Sept. 23. 

The incident happened in a north Cyprus village at around 11pm on December 31, 2023 when the defendant travelled to a relative’s house with a shotgun in the back of his car before leaving his house.

After eating and drinking at his relative’s house, he took the shotgun from the back of his vehicle and opened fire, with the bullets damaging a lamppost and a bus stop.

The judge said the defendant had “caused danger by carrying out this action in a residential area”, and also noted that he did not have the correct permit to be carrying and using a shotgun.

With this in mind, the judge pointed out that firearm-related crimes are “becoming increasingly common” in the north.

The man’s lawyer had said celebratory gunfire is “common” during the new year period, but the judge was quick to describe the act as both “unacceptable” and “a primitive form of celebration”.

The judge however, note that the man had paid 4,500TL to repair the damage he had caused to the lamppost and the bus stop, and that the man “regretted his actions and accepted he had done wrong”.

For this reason, and also given that the man is engaged and soon to be married, he was sentenced to two years in prison.