– This is part of an unfortunate development. There seems to be a trend nowadays where it takes less and less for people to react with punishment. It is a kind of wind of offense. You react very quickly to things. So says lawyer Brynjar Østgård to news. He has defended Svein Magne Mienna, who has been convicted for the second time for harassing two female fisheries inspectors. He was first sentenced to pay a fine of NOK 12,000 in the district court. He appealed the case, but now he has also been sentenced in the Court of Appeal. – The defendant has made gross and unnecessarily offensive statements to two fisheries inspectors based on their gender, against which there is obviously a need to be able to provide criminal protection, the Court of Appeal states. This is what Mienna is said to have said to the female inspectors, according to the indictment: March 14, 2022: stated to a male skipper who was chatting with inspector X1: “You have to stop being distracted by the lady. You must take this privately.” He then said to inspectors X1 and X2: “Perhaps you should jump on board, so they can get a little better catch, they have complained that they get so few fish”. March 15, 2022: He asked Inspector X2 if they should swing dance. When Inspector X2 replied in the negative, he said: “You know, you can teach me something, then I can teach you something.” March 16, 2022: he stated to Inspector X1: “Shouldn’t we have a dance today?”. When Inspector X1 replied in the negative, he continued: “Yeah, we can dance a bit”, before shouting to a fisherman: “Listen, she’s asking you to dance”. The statements from Mienna occurred during an inspection at Nergård’s fish reception in Breivikbotn on Sørøya in 2022. According to the verdict, Mienna said that the fisheries inspectors should jump on board the fishing boat that was at the quay, and contribute to better catches. Here, the court believes that Mienna alluded to the myth of “haill”. He also asked the inspectors for a dance. It happened, according to Mienna, when he asked one of the inspectors to move when he was driving a truck. “A female on the dock” First public prosecutor Hugo Henstein in the Troms and Finnmark public prosecutor’s offices believed that the statements made it more difficult for the inspectors to carry out their job, and that the incident meant that the inspectors would prefer to avoid this fish reception. – This type of statement, which individually can seem quite harmless, meant that they experienced being reduced to just “a female on the quay”, instead of being recognized as fisheries inspectors, he told news after the verdict in the district court. But lawyer Østgård believes that the verdict reinforces an unfortunate development. – If you look up a bit, I don’t know if society is moving forward if it keeps getting tighter and tighter and more and more repressive and more and more narrow what you can afford, he says. – On a larger scale, it puts freedom of expression under pressure. Although making slightly sly or funny comments is not exactly at the core of freedom of expression. Appeal to the Supreme Court The judgment is now being appealed to the Supreme Court. Svein Magne Mienna will not comment on the verdict to news, but to Fiskeribladet he says: – There is no discussion, I am appealing the case. There is nothing to think about, just appeal. If necessary, the case goes all the way to the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg. Mienna has been convicted of a breach of section 156 of the Criminal Code, second paragraph: “Anyone who, by insulting words or other inappropriate behavior, offends a public official during or because of the performance of the service, is punished with a fine”. Advocate Østgård believes that the Court of Appeal’s application of the law is incorrect. – They have drawn too wide a line for which statements and actions are covered by this sentence. Disagree with the lawyer Director of Fisheries Frank Bakke-Jensen tells news that he is very satisfied with the decision in the Court of Appeal. – It is a very thorough and well-written judgement, where the Court of Appeal disagrees with the lawyer’s statement, and so do we, says fisheries director Frank Bakke-Jensen. This is what Mienna is said to have said to the female inspectors, according to the indictment: March 14, 2022: stated to a male skipper who was chatting with inspector X1: “You have to stop being distracted by the lady. You must take this privately.” He then said to inspectors X1 and X2: “Perhaps you should jump on board, so they can get a little better catch, they have complained that they get so few fish”. March 15, 2022: He asked Inspector X2 if they should swing dance. When Inspector X2 replied in the negative, he said: “You know, you can teach me something, then I can teach you something.” March 16, 2022: he stated to Inspector X1: “Shouldn’t we have a dance today?”. When Inspector X1 replied in the negative, he continued: “Yeah, we can dance a bit”, before shouting to a fisherman: “Listen, she’s asking you to dance”.
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Sentenced again for harassing female fisheries inspectors – will appeal – news Nordland
