Andrey Yakunin (47) was arrested in Hammerfest on 17 October. He was charged and detained for having flown a drone in Svalbard, in violation of the sanctions against Russia. But on Thursday, the Hålogaland Court of Appeal said that the Sanctions Act does not cover flying with drones. – 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, says defense attorney Bernt Heiberg to news. The Police’s security service is responsible for the investigation. They appealed the decision, and Yakunin is being held in custody until the Supreme Court has considered the case. – Incorrect and unfortunate decision news met Yakunin’s defense attorney, Bernt Heiberg, and lawyer Jens Bernhard Herstad, outside Tromsø prison, shortly after they were told that PST was appealing. – In our view, it is an incorrect and a very unfortunate decision, says Jakunin’s defender, Bernt Heiberg, about the appeal to PST. – In a situation where the appeal body has found that an act is not punishable, then the person concerned should be released immediately. Defense counsel for Yakunin, Bernt Heiberg and lawyer Jens Bernhard Herstad. Photo: Aurora Berg / news Billionaire Yakunin 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. According to the charges, Andrey Yakunin flew illegally while on holiday in Svalbard. He was remanded in custody in Hammerfest on 18 October, but appealed the ruling. Yakunin 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 Yakunin 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. According to the Court of Appeal, the term aircraft is initially defined broadly enough to include drones. But in the sanctions regulations, the definition is nevertheless narrowed down. Two out of three judges state: “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. The lawyers also point out that Yakunin 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. The court has not made a decision on the last two arguments, because in any case it concludes that drones are not covered by the sanctions. The map shows drone observations near important infrastructure such as airports, military installations and oil and gas fields since 15 September. Only observations that can be located with a certain degree of accuracy are included in the map. Graphics: / Susanne Stubberud Rom/NRKKartet shows drone observations close to important infrastructure such as airports, military installations and oil and gas fields since 15 September. Only observations that can be located with a certain degree of accuracy are included in the map. Graphics: / Susanne Stubberud Room/news Professor support Several lawyers at the University of Oslo, including two professors, have written a column in Bergens Tidende in which they claim that Russians cannot be prosecuted for flying drones in Norway. They emphasize, among other things, that drones are not clearly defined as aircraft, and therefore not covered by the sanctions – i.e. the same as the Court of Appeal came to. Thus, it would violate the Constitution to punish them for drone flying. The problem became food for the Supreme Court even before PST appealed the Yakunin case. Another Russian who was jailed in the Gulating Court of Appeal this week has decided to appeal further. The judges in Gulating do not go into more detail about whether drone use is a type of aviation that is affected by the sanctions. The man’s defense counsel did not address this either, based on what appears in the ruling. Time pressure in the court The appeal to the Supreme Court may trigger a somewhat special circus in the courts – if the decision does not come on Friday. Yakunin’s detention expires on Monday. Then the appeal no longer has any legal interest. If PST wants to present him for extended detention, the whole process can start again in the District Court, with new appeals to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. 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 Andrey Yakunin (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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PST appeals the release of drone accused Yakunin – news Troms and Finnmark
