Legal questions about self-defense and pepper spray


Questioner

Dear, I have a question regarding grounds for excluding criminal liability. Suppose you are a young woman who is attacked by a man and the woman uses pepper spray to defend herself. The woman knows who it is and reports it. If a procedure then follows, is the woman who defended herself with pepper spray (which is illegal) punishable for this or is that seen as a form of self-defense? Yours sincerely

Lawyer

If the young woman reports her attacker, he is the suspect in a criminal case. Should this lead to criminal proceedings, the defense of the woman with pepper spray will not be central, because the woman is not a suspect in this case. It is possible, however, that the attacker reports the woman for the use of pepper spray or assault. If this leads to criminal proceedings, the woman may be able to appeal to self-defense (excessive). The judge will then have to assess whether the appeal to self-defense (excessive) is successful. With regard to pepper spray, the woman will not be able to (successfully) rely on self-defense (excessive), because it is a criminal offense to carry pepper spray. This is punishable under the Weapons and Ammunition Act. It is obvious that the woman will then be prosecuted for possessing and using a prohibited weapon and not for the fact that the woman defended herself against her attacker. I hope this answers your question sufficiently! If you still have questions, please feel free to ask.

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