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Caught red-handed: Norwegian woman fined after left hand crosses Russian border

A woman in North Norway was handed a hefty fine when her left arm crossed the Russian border.

Published: 23 July 2021 13:19 CEST

Caught red-handed: Norwegian woman fined after left hand crosses Russian border

A border police officer at the Norwegian border. Photo by Petter BERNTSEN / AFP

Police in Finnmark, Northern Norway, have dished out a fine to a woman after she accidentally crossed the border on a trip to Treirksrøyen, the spot that marks the boundaries between Norway, Finland and Russia.

The hiker climbed the spot that marks the borders and hugged what locals call the heart stone, which sits atop the cairn.

Hugging the stone meant that her left hand crossed the border, which is illegal under The National Borders Act.

The incident was picked up by CCTV at the site and reported to police by armed forces at the border. Local police then slapped the woman with a fine.

“There are quite strict rules when it comes to crossing the border,” Lisa Moon Sneve, attorney for Finnmark Police District, told newspaper VG.

According to Sneve, this is a common offence.

“I do not have the exact number, but there are so many cases like this where it is common for us,” Sneve said.

READ ALSO: Two campers find 2 million kroner stashed in cave in Norway

The woman has yet to respond to the fine, meaning that she could end up in district court in September if she refuses to accept the fine.

If so, she risks having the fine increased to 9,600 kroner, or 19 days in prison if she is unable to pay or continues to refuse to pay the fine.

Sneve says that the fine may seem excessive but that it’s necessary to prevent people from crossing the border illegally.

“There are very many tourists who aren’t clear on how strict this actually is, but not being aware of the law is no excuse. The fines are high to prevent people from crossing the border,” she explained.

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Norwegian police charge Olympic champion's father for domestic violence

Jakob Ingebrigtsen and two of his brothers, Henrik and Filip, who are also athletes, shocked Norway last October when they accused their father of being violent.

“We grew up with a very aggressive and authoritarian father, who used physical violence and threats as part of his upbringing,” the brothers wrote in an op-ed for newspaper VG. “We still feel a sense of discomfort and fear that we have felt since childhood,” they added.

Police opened a probe into the abuse claims and on Monday said prosecutors had decided to charge Gjert Ingebrigtsen, 58, with domestic violence against one of his children.

According to a source close to the case, the acts in question do not concern the trio of known athletes but another, younger child.

Over a period of four years, from 2018 to 2022, Gjert Ingebrigtsen allegedly manhandled, insulted, threatened and hit the child in the face with his hand or with a towel.

Responding to questions from AFP, Therese Braut Vage, who led the investigation, would not confirm this account.

Police said they had closed investigations into other events concerning the six other children in the home either due to a lack of evidence or, in one case, because the statute of limitations having expired.

Gjert, who coached Jakob until after the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo — where Jakob won the gold — has always denied the accusations against him.

“As far as the dismissed cases, we agree that there is no evidence to prove that Ingebrigtsen committed any wrongdoing,” his lawyer John Christian Elden told AFP on Monday.

“For the rest, Ingebrigtsen disputes the description of the facts on which the indictment is based — and he therefore does not admit his guilt,” he continued in an email.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen is the most successful of the three brothers, twice winning gold in the world championships 5000m in 2022 and 2023, as well as the Olympic 1500m gold.

The 23-year-old is also preparing for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.

Henrik, 33, and Filip, 31, were European champions in the 1500m in 2012 and 2016 respectively.

After breaking with his sons, Gjert Ingebrigtsen shocked Norwegian athletics by becoming the trainer of another runner, Narve Gilje Nordas.

The Norwegian Olympic Committee has said that Gjert will not be granted accreditation for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, as was the case at last year’s World Athletics Championships.

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