Norway’s Supreme Court has overturned the acquittal of Andrey Yakunin in a ruling released on June 30 in a case that accused him of breaking EU sanctions by flying a recreational drone over the Norwegian island of Svalbard. Yakunin denied all wrongdoing in an interview with bne IntelliNews.

Following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the Norwegian government made it illegal for Russians to fly drones in Norway’s airspace. Yakunin, the son of former head of Russia Railways and who holds dual British-Russian citizenship, was acquitted but now will have to face the charges again.

The majority in the Supreme Court determined that use of hobby drones is covered by the sanctions rules after all, and the case has therefore been sent back to the district court to examine the other legal issues involved.

Yakunin was arrested and detained in autumn 2022 after using a hobby drone during his annual expedition to Svalbard on his yacht Firebird. Yakunin spent over two months in custody before he was released after being acquitted by the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court. The prosecution appealed against the acquittal to the Halogaland Court of Appeal, which again acquitted Yakunin. After a further appeal by the prosecution, the Supreme Court has now overturned the previous acquittals and sent the case back to the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court for a retrial.

“Two of the five Supreme Court judges held that hobby drones are not covered by the sanctions regulations, just as one district court judge and three appellate court judges had found previously in this case. That says something about how difficult this question is. Can it reasonably be expected that an ordinary tourist would be able to understand this?” said Yakunin’s lawyer John Christian Elden of Elden Advokatfirma, commenting on the decision in a statement sent to bne IntelliNews by email.

In its judgment, the Supreme Court considered only the question of whether hobby drones are covered by the sanctions regulations or not. It did not examine the other legal issues in the case, such as whether the sanctions rules apply to persons with dual citizenship or whether the Norwegian government can discriminate against Russians in Svalbard in light of the Svalbard Treaty. These questions must now be dealt with in full by the district court.

“Andrey Yakunin, like the minority in the Supreme Court, is still of the opinion that it is not a criminal offence for a British citizen to use a hobby drone for recreational purposes in Svalbard, and he is sure that he will be acquitted again when the case is heard by the district court,” said Elden.

After being made aware of the Supreme Court’s decision, Yakunin said: “these past nine months I have been following justice in the making. I have observed how all the Norwegian courts, from the district court up to the Supreme Court, have been trying to determine how best to interpret the sanctions that are in place. It would have saved so much time and resources of Europe’s taxpayers, myself included, if the regulations in question had been drafted such that both public and law enforcement agencies could understand them clearly and precisely.”

Yakunin was only one of half a dozen Russians arrested at the time on similar charges in a raid by police. He believes that the goal of the sanctions is quite clear: to weaken the Russian government’s ability to wage war in Ukraine.

“It is important to consider the spirit of the law, particularly when that spirit may to some degree be at odds with the letter of the law. I am convinced that the Norwegian legal system will eventually agree with the basic message I keep repeating: it is not a criminal offence for a British or any other man or woman to fly a hobby drone in Svalbard,” said Yakunin.

“Unfortunately, it will take even more time and at least one further court hearing before common sense becomes established legal fact, namely that flying a hobby drone in Svalbard is not punishable for a Russian-British citizen. Until then, I remain committed to proving my innocence in the courts of law and getting justice – over and over again, if necessary,” he concluded.

“If the prosecution upholds the indictment, we will prepare for a new trial in the district court,” concluded lawyer Elden.