Yakunin admitted drone flying during a sailing trip in Svalbard this summer, but the defenders questioned whether this activity was intended to be part of EU sanctions against Russia. Businessman Andrey Yakunin has dual citizenship, both Russian and British. He was accused of violating the sanctions that prohibit Russian citizens from flying drones in Norwegian airspace. Yakunin himself explained in court that he did not know about the drone ban. The prosecution requested 120 days in prison, but he has now been acquitted. Yakunin’s defense attorney John Christian Elden is satisfied with the verdict. – This is common sense and in accordance with EU law’s sanctioning rules. The other judgments must be quashed as they are based on an incorrect understanding of the law. It is not a criminal offense for either the British or the Russians to fly recreational drones in Norway. EU law is clear and does not refuse such flights, he tells NTB. Yakunin was arrested in Hammerfest on 17 October and eventually charged with violating the ban on Russian citizens flying drones in Norway. He had then been on a sailing trip in Svalbard where he had used a drone to take pictures. Yakunin is the son of a Russian businessman who is said to have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Drone defendant Andrey Yakunin acquitted in the district court – news Troms and Finnmark
