The Supreme Court’s appeals committee has decided that the case against quay worker Svein Magne Mienna, who was convicted of molesting two female fisheries inspectors, will be heard in the Supreme Court. Mienna’s lawyer Brynjar Østgård says his client is satisfied with having the case tried in the Supreme Court. – I think the prosecution should be as well. They also believe that this is a borderline case, and that there is a need for clarification. And you only get that when the Supreme Court looks at the case. At the end of March, Mienna was sentenced to a fine of NOK 12,000 for violating section 156 of the Criminal Code. It was in the period from Monday 14 March to Wednesday 16 March 2022 at the fish reception Nergård Sørøya AS in Hasvik that Mienna allegedly behaved condescendingly and unpleasantly towards two female inspectors from the Directorate of Fisheries. Among other things, he is said to have invited the female fisheries inspectors to dance, and said that they should jump on board the boat to contribute to a better catch – i.e. as in the expression “haill”. 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”. Mienna has always believed that his statements to the female inspectors are common fishing jargon, which must be understood as a joke. – Asking for a dance and talking about “hail” is how we have talked for several thousand years up here. If they don’t understand this language that is spoken both on the boat and on the quay, then they have to find something else to do, Svein Magne Mienna told news after the verdict in Vestre Finnmark district court. “Haill” is an expression that refers to having good fishing luck as a result of having recently had intercourse. Appeal to the Court of Appeal He decided to appeal the verdict. But also in the appeal case in the Court of Appeal, Mienna was sentenced to a fine of NOK 12,000. Lawyer on the verdict against Svein Arne: – There is a kind of wind of abuse Then lawyer Brynjar Østgård announced that they would appeal the case to the Supreme Court. He believes this case is special. – It is one of several cases concerning harassment of public servants. Most such cases are about the police, and concern abusive words and actions such as pointing the finger. – What could be said 30 years ago, now becomes a criminal case, notes lawyer Brynjar Østgård. Photo: Marius Fiskum / Advokatfirmaet Østgård This case is in a slightly different street, according to the lawyer. – This applies to statements that are fairly innocent. We have no clarifying case law on such cases. The fact that the Supreme Court will now take up the case may end up with these statements, or some of them, not being affected by the law. Østgård adds: – But it could also be a signal that the Supreme Court believes that the statements are in fact affected by the law. How is Mienna today? – What has happened has had certain labor law consequences for him. On a purely general basis, one must reckon that this has been a burden. According to the lawyer, Mienna has been a fisherman and fishery worker since he was a teenager. – He is a working man who has grown up in an environment with a certain jargon. Østgård also questions whether punishment should be the answer to everything you don’t like in society. – The use of appeal options is a key part of legal certainty, says director of fisheries Frank Bakke-Jensen. Photo: Jørn Inge Johansen / news – In a bigger picture, one should ask what punishment should be used for. Hopefully the Supreme Court can help provide an answer to that, says Østgård. The case has not yet been scheduled in the Supreme Court, but Østgård hopes that it will be heard before Christmas. Directorate of Fisheries: – We have a good case Director of Fisheries Frank Bakke-Jensen registers that the case will end up in the Supreme Court. He thinks the Directorate of Fisheries has a good case. – We have been successful in two courts, so yes, I think we have a good case. Bakke-Jensen says that this is also an important issue for the Directorate of Fisheries. – How our employees are met in the field when they carry out their work is fundamentally important to us. Focusing on gender rather than function is, for us, an unacceptable ruling technique. We must conduct resource control on behalf of the community. Business operators must then make arrangements for it.
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The “Haill” judgment will be heard in the Supreme Court – news Nordland
