The ban on overflights of Norwegian territory by Russians, issued in response to the war in Ukraine, also applies to drones, according to a ruling by the Norwegian Supreme Court on Friday.
That ruling could prompt a re-examination of the case of Andrei Yakunin, the son of a former close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was acquitted in Norway last year after flying drones over Svalbard during a boat trip around that Norwegian Arctic archipelago.
A first instance and then an appeals court acquitted him on the grounds that the overflight ban imposed in Norway, as in the EU, on Russian citizens and organizations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine did not apply to drones.
The release of Andrei Yakunin – whose father, Vladimir Yakunin, former president of the Russian Railways Company, is sometimes credited as Vladimir Putin’s confidant – led to the dropping of charges against several other Russians suspected of flying drones in Norway.
The country’s highest court, the Supreme Court, gave a different opinion on Friday, ruling that the term “aircraft” (“plane”) used in the text of the EU sanctions, of which Norway — which is not a member — should not be used – also includes drones .
It therefore asked the trial court to reconsider the file, possibly in the light of the other arguments put forward by the defense, in order to obtain Mr Yakunin’s release.
In particular, his lawyers have argued that the 48-year-old businessman is also a British national and his connections are mainly outside Russia, which should therefore have barred him from prosecution, or that the rules are not clear enough.
Norway, which has become Europe’s largest gas supplier after the war in Ukraine, has increased vigilance over its sites, including its power plants, after the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the neighboring Baltic Sea.