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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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Norway's ex-biathlon boss jailed for three years for corruption

Norwegian Anders Besseberg, the 78-year-old head of the International Biathlon Union from 1993 to 2018, was found guilty of nine of 10 counts of aggravated corruption during the period 2009-2018, charges he denied.

“I am of course disappointed and surprised about the verdict and some of the judges’ reasoning. I am appealing on the spot,” Besseberg told the court after the judge read out the 67-page verdict over the course of almost three hours.

“The defendant breached the trust that came with his position at the IBU by accepting the benefits,” judge Vidar Toftoy-Lohne at the Buskerud district court said.

The prosecution hailed the verdict.

“There is a lot of money in circulation in international elite sport. The federations manage substantial financial assets and make decisions that are important for both athletes and the business community,” prosecutor Marianne Djupesland said in a statement.

“We hope this verdict can contribute to raising awareness and that it will have a preventive effect,” she said.

Prosecutors had sought a jail term of three years and seven months and a fine of one million kroner ($95,000).

The court did not hand down a fine, but ordered Besseberg to return gifts amounting to 1.4 million kroner.

Besseberg admitted accepting gifts but dismissed the notion that corruption was involved.

“Even if I received expensive gifts and was invited by many to go hunting, I must stress that I never let myself be corrupted,” he told the court during his trial, media reported.

Russian shadow

As head of the IBU when the Russian doping scandal exploded in the 2010s, Besseberg was accused of initially hiding cases of Russian doping in his sport in exchange for favours.

Prosecutors dropped that line of attack, but in Norway, receiving improper favours, even if no services are provided in exchange, is enough to constitute corruption.

Russia’s shadow nonetheless hung heavily over the case.

According to an inquiry launched by Sweden’s Olle Dahlin, who succeeded Besseberg as head of the IBU, Besseberg pushed to hold the 2021 biathlon world championships in Tyumen, Siberia, despite the Russian doping scandals.

The contest was eventually awarded to Pokljuka in Slovenia.

Prosecutors argued that Besseberg went on fully paid hunting trips in Austria and in the Czech Republic, and for seven years drove a leased BMW X5, all paid for by Infront, a marketing company that held television rights to the sport.

They argued he was given three watches worth a total of more than 30,000 euros ($33,000), invited on trips to hunt deer and wild boar, and offered services from sex workers, all paid for by Russian officials.

Asked about an Omega watch worth more than 17,000 euros he received in 2011 for his 65th birthday, he said: “I did not think it was undeserved.”

The court said two of the three watches he received constituted corruption.

Besseberg also denied any contact with sex workers, acknowledging only what he said was a consensual affair with a 42-year-old Russian.

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