2023-06-30 11:06:31
11:01 a.m .: Flying a drone is prohibited for Russians in Norway, confirms justice
The ban on overflights of Norwegian territory by Russians, decreed in reaction to the war in Ukraine, also applies to drones, according to a judgment rendered Friday by the Norwegian Supreme Court. This verdict could lead to a re-examination of the case of Andrei Yakunin, the son of a former close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, acquitted last year in Norway after flying drones over Svalbard during a trip to boat around this Norwegian arctic archipelago.
A court of first instance and then a court of appeal acquitted him, judging that the ban on overflights imposed in Norway as in the EU on Russian citizens and entities following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia did not apply to drones. The release of Andrei Yakunin, whose father, Vladimir Yakunin, ex-president of the Russian Railways Company, is sometimes described as a confidant of Vladimir Putin, led to the abandonment of charges against several other Russians suspected of flying drones in Norway.
The country’s highest court, the Supreme Court, issued a different opinion on Friday, finding that the term “aircraft” used in the EU sanctions text Norway aligned with also covered drones. She therefore asked the court of first instance to possibly re-examine the file in the light of the other arguments put forward by the defense to obtain the release of Andrei Yakunin.
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