The court of appeal of the city of Bergen, Norway, has refused to release three Ukrainian pilots, who were arrested on January 8 on suspicion of getting drunk before the flight, a representative of the Ukrainian foreign ministry told Itar-Tass on Friday.
So, Norway rejected the appeal of Ukraine, of which the Ukrainian embassy in Norway was officially informed on Thursday, he continued. On the ruling of the Norwegian court, three crewmembers – the flight commander and two pilots – were sentenced to preliminary imprisonment for a term of four weeks. Another four crewmembers were set free. The 8th member of the crew was set free after paying a fine.
The foreign ministry official said as well that the flight commander had had a telephone conversation with the consulate of the Russian embassy and had said he had had no complaints over the conditions in which they were kept.
The incident, connected with the arrest of the Ukrainian pilots, took place on January 8 at the Flesland airport, near Bergen. The crew of the Ukrainian An-22 plane were arrested by the police on suspicion of being drunk. The plane was to deliver oil equipment to Baku.
