A court in Norway acquitted Andrei Yakunin, son of a former close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was charged with flying a drone over Svalbard despite a ban, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Yakunin, 47, was arrested in October and accused of using drones during a trip to the Arctic archipelago last summer aboard his Firebird luxury yacht.
He is the son of the former head of the Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin, who is sometimes described as a confidant of Putin.
Like the European Union, of which it is not a member, Norway has banned Russian citizens and organisations from flying over its territory following Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- a rule that also applied to the use of drones.
But the Nord-Troms og Senja court ruled "Yakunin did not commit a criminal act," his lawyers said in a statement.
"The court justifies this decision by saying that flying a recreational drone is not covered by the sanctions," they added.
The court could not be reached for comment late Wednesday. According to reports in the Norwegian media, the prosecution is to appeal the ruling.
The verdict contrasts with jail sentences of several months already handed down to other Russian citizens accused of similar acts in the Scandinavian country.
Norway, which has become Europe's main supplier of natural gas, is particularly concerned about protecting its strategic sites, particularly its energy installations.
Although Yakunin had admitted that the drones were used purely for recreational purposes and not for espionage or sabotage, the prosecution argued that the charges were justified to ensure the flight ban remained a deterrent.
The prosecutor had asked for a 120-day prison sentence.
The defence argued that Yakunin, who was born in Russia, also had dual British citizenship since 2014, which should have protected him from the sanctions imposed on the Russians in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
Having left Saint Petersburg in 2008 and now living in Italy, he would have only "marginal" ties with Russia, they said. He said he had condemned Russia's offensive in Ukraine.
