Today, the four Russians, who were detained for taking pictures of a city with a ban on photography, will be released. It was on 11 October that the Russian nationals were arrested. Before the arrest, someone should have observed the Russians photographing the coast guard base on Sortland. The Russians have always denied having done anything wrong. Now the defender of one of the Russians is taking issue with Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl’s description of the incident. – It may seem that the minister is almost trying to make political money on something that in reality turns out to be nothing in the world, says defender Arne Johansen. The backdrop is that the police in Nordland published a press release about the detention a week after they had arrested the Russians. A quarter of an hour after the press release was out, the Minister of Justice opened his press conference by referring to this imprisonment. Defendant: – An outrageous claim Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) opened her speech with this: – The police in Nordland have informed that they have arrested and detained four Russians. They are intended for mapping objects worthy of protection. – Now we see the consequences of the new security situation in Norway. The cases we have seen in recent days underline the importance of the increased preparedness we have seen in action after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. We cannot rule out that there may be more such cases in the future. Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) has been presented with the criticism. Photo: William Jobling / news Mehl also emphasized that she could not go into details about these cases that were under investigation, and that no conclusions could be drawn about the intentions behind them. Johansen is surprised that there is so little time between the message from the police and the press conference to the government. – It is a bold claim at such an early stage to link this to the new security situation in Norway, and a fairly hard shot with something that appears to be nothing in the world, says Johansen. He adds: – There is obviously a press conference that is coordinated with the police. It is tempting to think that this is not accidental. Political influence of investigation In addition, there is an unfortunate political influence of an investigation, according to Johansen. The police have now strengthened the hypothesis that the Russians are tourists. But despite the release, and the fact that no evidence has been found that the Russians have photographed objects worthy of protection, the case is not put aside. The investigation will now be taken over by PST. – It’s okay to be tense, but it’s good to have some ice in your stomach, says Johansen. – Do you mean that she has prejudged these four? – No, I wouldn’t necessarily say that. But it is not a completely lucky use of words that she introduces with the arrest and puts it in direct context with the new security situation in Norway when it then turns out that they have not taken pictures of objects worthy of protection. – I understand the situation. I see that it is a two-sided issue. One must be careful not to lower the threshold for arrests, and it does not help that the Minister of Justice hangs on to a case which turns out shortly afterwards to have not been apprehended. – From a legal certainty aspect, it is an unfortunate approach, Johansen believes. – The Russians’ explanation is strength. On Friday, the four Russians were released, because the police had no holding point to keep them there. No image of the shielding object has been found. According to the defender, this strengthens the Russians’ own explanations: – Their own explanation that they are on holiday is the strength. In fact, it is the case that people refer to arrests with associated charges and use it as an example as a consequence of the new security situation in Norway. – If one is to follow the logic in the reasoning, the consequences of the security situation in Norway are that tourists are also arrested on incorrect grounds. And that someone wrongfully arrests Russians who are on holiday in Norway. The Ministry: – Does not comment on individual cases news has asked the Minister of Justice to comment on the criticism from defender Arne Johansen. news has also asked for comment on the connection between the press release to the police and the press conference to the government. In response, the ministry refers to what Mehl said in his speech during the press conference. In an e-mail they wrote to news that it is important to be available and answer questions from the media, but that the ministry neither can nor should comment on individual cases. This is despite the fact that news has not asked the Minister of Justice for details in individual cases, but presented the criticism from defense counsel Johansen about what Mehl himself said during the press conference.
ttn-69
Criticizes the Minister of Justice after talk of arrested Russians – news Nordland
