The verdict was handed down in the Hålogaland Court of Appeal today. – The majority’s assessment was that there was no criminal offence. We are very pleased to see that the Court of Appeal agrees with us, We are on our way to the prison to talk to Jakunin there, says defense attorney Bernt Heiberg to news. He will be released, there will be a press release from us soon with further details, now we are on our way to the prison to talk to him there. Jakunin has been imprisoned in Tromsø. He is the third of four Russians who have been arrested by drone in Norway since 11 October and detained. The basis is the sanctions that were introduced against Russia after the war against Ukraine. Russian-British businessman Andrej Jakunin (47) has, according to the charges, flown illegally while on holiday in Svalbard. He was remanded in custody in Hammerfest on 18 October, but appealed the ruling. Jakunin has an estimated fortune of close to NOK 3 billion. That’s what ForumDaily writes, citing the Delovoy Peterburg newspaper. He could afford to bring in several lawyers in addition to his publicly appointed defender. Bernt Heiberg and John Christian Elden from Elden Advokatfirma wrote an extensive appeal, which news has seen. Bernt Heiberg and John Christian Elden from Elden Advokatfirma have attacked the imprisonment of Jakunin from several angles. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB They attack the arrest on three points: A drone is not an aircraft They believe, firstly, that drones are not covered by the flight ban. The ban applies to “aircraft”, and that word has no clear definition. Drones end up on both sides of the line, depending on what they are used for. The defenders cite a letter from the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority which states that drones are not considered aircraft when they are used for recreational flying. Two out of three judges in the Court of Appeal agree: “With such a qualification of which aircraft are covered, the relevant drones used by the accused in this case clearly fall outside the prohibition in the sanctions regulations”, they write. A British citizen cannot be punished as a Russian. Moreover, they point out that Jakunin has British citizenship in addition to the Russian one. The Storting has not considered whether persons with dual citizenship should be affected by the sanctions, the defenders point out. If that was the intention, the sanctions would also affect Norwegians who have Russian citizenship in addition to Norwegian. The defenders conclude that the sanctions law only affects people with a closer connection to Russia. The sanctions violate the Svalbard Treaty The last thing is that the sanctions cannot apply to Svalbard. It would violate the Svalbard Treaty, which requires equal treatment of all who have joined it. Both Great Britain and Russia have signed, the lawyers point out. On this point, they have received opposition from professor and international law expert Geir Ulfstein. He has told news that the treaty does not apply to aviation. Professor support Several lawyers at the University of Oslo, including two professors, have written an article in Bergens Tidende in which they claim that Russians cannot be prosecuted for flying drones in Norway. Among other things, they emphasize that drones are not clearly defined as aircraft, and therefore not covered by the sanctions. Thus, it would violate the Constitution to punish them for drone flying. These are the Russians who have been caught by drone: 11 October: A 50-year-old was caught at the border at Storskog. He was initially remanded in custody for two weeks, and will be produced for extended custody on Thursday. 14 October: A 51-year-old arrested at Tromsø Airport. Remanded in custody for two weeks, appeal rejected by the Court of Appeal. 17 October: Businessman Andrej Jakunin (47) was arrested in Hammerfest. Imprisoned for two weeks, but appealed. 20 October: A Russian in his 30s was arrested in Ullensvang. He has been remanded in custody by the Court of Appeal and has appealed to the Supreme Court.
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Businessman Andrej Jakunin is released after drone flight – news Troms and Finnmark
