Copenhagen, Nov 23 (AP) A 34-year-old Russian was sentenced to 90 days in prison on Wednesday for flying a drone and thereby breaching sanctions which came into force after Russia went to war against Ukraine.

The man, who was not identified, was not suspected of espionage, the Norwegian newspaper Bergens Tidende reported.

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He admitted to flying the drone in southern Norway to photograph nature, the daily said, adding he claimed to be unaware that this was banned.

Under Norwegian law, it is prohibited for aircraft operated by Russian companies or citizens “to land on, take off from or fly over Norwegian territory.”

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Norway is not a member of the European Union but mirrors its moves and decided on the ban earlier this year after the invasion.

The prosecution had asked for a 120-day sentence.

Prosecutor Marit Formo said she was “very satisfied with the verdict” of the Hordaland District Court.

Numerous drone sightings have been reported near offshore oil and gas platforms belonging to NATO member Norway, a major oil and gas producer, in recent weeks.

Several Russian citizens have been detained over the past few weeks for flying drones or taking photographs of sensitive sites in Norway. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)