British-Russian Andrey Yakunin Acquitted After Drone Flight

The acquittal of the British-Russian businessman Andrey Yakunin is final after the Hålogaland Court of Appeal refused the prosecution's appeal.

That is reported by Elden Advokatfirma in a press release.

“From day one, I have been saying that it is no offense for a British man to fly a drone in Svalbard. However, it has taken almost two years and a complicated legal process, with 52 days in detention, to get this message across. But common sense and justice have inevitably prevailed in the end. I have never committed any criminal offense,” says Andrey Yakunin.

Andrey Yakunin was arrested in Norway in the Autumn of 2022 after flying a hobby drone during a sailing trip in Svalbard. He was later prosecuted for breaching the sanctions regulations in Norway but was acquitted by both the District Court and the Court of Appeal. When the case was heard in the Supreme Court in 2023, the district court's acquittal was overturned, suggesting that a hobby drone should be considered an aircraft for sanctions regulations.

The case was heard again in the District Court earlier this year, where Yakunin was acquitted once more.

The prosecution appealed the verdict again, but this time, the Court of Appeal refused the prosecution's appeal. Andrey Yakunin has finally been acquitted of all the charges, according to his defense lawyers.