Turku Court of Appeal Raises Jail Term After Axe Threat and Head Kick at Tampere Market Square

The Court of Appeal in Turku increased the 28-year-old man's sentence to one year and eight months for the August 2025 assault at Tampere Market Square, YLE reports.

Surveillance footage shows the defendant striking a stranger in the face with an open palm, punching him again, then kicking the fallen, defenseless victim in the head. He was arrested about ten minutes later. Witnesses reported he threatened the victim with an axe, and the prosecutor argued he also struck the victim with it.

The appeals court concluded the video evidence and the victim's slash-like facial wounds supported the axe allegation. The defendant had admitted carrying a camping axe at his waist or in his pocket. The court found the district court's original one-year, two-month sentence too lenient and increased it by six months. The verdict is not final; the defendant may seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The judgment notes a long criminal record: 62 offences between 2014 and 2025, with at least four convictions so far this year. Past rulings include convictions for aggravated fraud, attempted aggravated theft and aggravated breach of domestic peace. Many earlier offences were minor thefts such as shoplifting, and his longest previous sentence was one year and seven months.

The appeals court decision follows other recent appellate rulings in violent Tampere cases, including a brutal October beating at the central square and an August Market Square stabbing whose sentence was also increased on appeal.