In the autumn, Yakunin was detained and charged with flying a drone illegally in Svalbard. The British-Russian businessman Andrey Yakunin spent 51 days in custody, from 17 October to 7 December 2022. He was first acquitted by the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court, the prosecution then appealed to the Court of Appeal. Public prosecutor Jan Glent believed that Nord-Troms and Senja district court misinterpreted the Norwegian sanctions regulations when they acquitted the British-Russian citizen Andrey Yakunin in December of having flown a drone in Svalbard. Now the Hålogaland Court of Appeal has also acquitted Yakunin of having used the hobby drone in Svalbard, writes Elden Advokatfirma in a press release. – Hopefully the prosecution will now come to their senses and accept the verdict, says lawyer Bernt Heiberg at Elden Advokatfirma. Heiberg defended Yakunin together with lawyer John Christian Elden. Yakunin is satisfied The businessman says in a press release from Elden Advokatfirma that he is very satisfied with the Court of Appeal’s decision. – I am very happy that the rule of law and common sense also prevailed in the Court of Appeal. From day one, I have argued that it is not a criminal offense for a British man to fly a hobby drone in Svalbard. I hope that the Court of Appeal’s rejection of the prosecution’s appeal will put a final end to this story. Andrey Yakunin was on a sailing trip with the boat Firebird when he was arrested in Hammerfest. In January, the businessman was back at sea. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news In the press release, it is stated that the Hålogaland Court of Appeal has found that the sanctioning regulations do not include a ban on the use of hobby drones for leisure purposes. It also states that in this case the Government has exceeded the powers they have received from the Storting. Yakunin is not the only one who was arrested last year for flying a drone illegally. – In a number of cases, not just Andrey Yakunin’s case, innocent tourists have been put in prison because the Government has not understood its mandate from the Storting, says Elden. He believes it is sensational that the dealership authority has not realized this earlier.
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