A 47-year-old Russian citizen was arrested in Hammerfest after flying a drone over Norwegian territory.
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The man is the son of one of Vladimir Putin’s closest allies and is referred to as a well-known businessman, with extensive training abroad and former residence in England.
Was Barents Observer who first reported this link.
The man’s father is a former business executive with close ties to Putin. Both the United States and Great Britain have placed the danger on the list of Russian actors sanctioned in connection with the war in Ukraine.
According to the Finnmark Police District, they are in dialogue with PST about the two cases in which Russian citizens were caught filming with a drone in the district. PST is considering whether they should take over investigations into these and similar cases.
PST did not respond to requests from VG.
The 47-year-old has Russian and British citizenship and is accused of violating §4 of the Sanctions Act for flying a drone over Norwegian territory in Svalbard.
is forbidden to Russian citizens flying drones in Norway.
The man also lives in Italy. In the district court, the man tried to argue that he should be seen as a British citizen, not a Russian.
The court notes that it is strange that he is traveling on a Russian passport, according to the Vestre Finnmark district court ruling.
The man’s defender, Jens Bernhard Herstad, tells VG that his client has recognized the real circumstances and is cooperating with the police.
– He is a British citizen, but he also has Russian citizenship. He sees himself as a British citizen, and therefore sees no reason why he should fall under the sanctioning provisions.
Why did you fly a drone in Svalbard?
– It was twofold: both for security reasons and for social media.
Safety issues?
– Svalbard have a rude character and have been there alone, so it was to minimize the risk of accidents they used drones in some contexts.
The defender says the man was aboard a boat that sailed around Svalbard and Spitsbergen as an expedition and adventure trip.
According to the lawyer, the drone flight took place in August, while the man was arrested in Hammerfest on Monday this week.
He hasn’t been aboard the boat all this time. He got back on the boat again last week, and then sailed from Alta to Hammerfest, says Herstad.
– He only flew a drone to Svalbard, and for this he recognized the real conditions, says Herstad.
Jailed for two weeks
– Police have received permission to deport a 47-year-old Russian citizen for two weeks, police lawyer Anja Mikkelsen Indbjør writes in an email.
The district court concluded that the risk of the defendant leaving the country is great and that it is therefore reasonable to place him in custody.
– The police are investigating the case and it is too early to say more until we have examined the seizures, writes the police prosecutor.
The defendant admitted flying a drone in Svalbard, Indbjør writes in the email. He writes that the police have seized drones and electronic devices for technical review.
Last week, another Russian was jailed for two weeks after taking photos at Tromsø airport and flying over Kirkenes with a drone.
In the material, the police found, among other things, a video of the Kirkenes airport and images of the Norwegian Armed Forces Bell helicopter. The man explained that he crossed the border at Storskog on Thursday and was headed for Svalbard. He admitted flying a drone in Norway
Preparedness reached its peak after an explosion and a leak from a gas pipe in the Baltic Sea in September. It is reported that drones have been sighted in airports, oil rigs and gas plants along the entire west coast and in northern Norway in recent weeks.
PST has asked people to report if they see anything suspicious.
On Wednesday morning, Bergen Flesland Airport was closed due to at least one drone.
Earlier this week it became known that four Russians were arrested in Nordland for illegal photography.
