TALLINN: An Estonian court sentenced pro-Russian politician Aivo Peterson to 14 years in prison for treason, it announced in a press release on Thursday.
The Harju County Court found that Peterson and collaborator Dmitri Roots, both Estonian citizens, “assisted the Russian Federation in the latter’s influence activities against Estonia.”
Roots, who was sentenced to 11 years, had informed Peterson of Russian interest in meeting and cooperating with a political party seeking to shape debate in Estonia, a close Ukrainian ally.
This led to a meeting being planned, which according to the court “would have opened up the possibility of covertly influencing decisions in the Estonian political landscape.”
“Estonian law enforcement works tirelessly to ensure Kremlin subversion fails,” Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna posted on X in reaction to the ruling.
A former border guard, Peterson co-founded the KOOS (“Together“) party, which called to leave NATO, decrease defense spending and preserve Soviet-era monuments in the formerly occupied republic.
He was never elected to public office but secured significant numbers of votes in national and European elections.
Along with Roots, he was also accused of treason for attempting to establish a civil defense organization — but this was without Russian instructions.
The court additionally found that Peterson took trips organized by Russia to occupied Ukrainian territories.
While there, he recorded videos aiming to encourage “Western and European audiences to stop supporting Ukraine” in support of “Russia’s national interests,” which he posted on social media.
Russia covered Peterson’s trip expenses, and he appeared on several pro-Russian channels as a candidate for the Estonian parliament.
The excursion was coordinated in part by Russian citizen Andrey Andronov, who was also sentenced to 11 years on Thursday.
All three were fined thousands of euros by the court.
They have a right to appeal the ruling within 30 days.
Estonia sentences pro-Russian politician to 14 years for treason
https://arab.news/82dtw
Estonia sentences pro-Russian politician to 14 years for treason
- Roots, who was sentenced to 11 years, had informed Peterson of Russian interest in meeting
- “Estonian law enforcement works tirelessly to ensure Kremlin subversion fails,” Tsahkna posted on X
Europol warns Iran crisis raises threat of terror, extremism and cyberattacks
- Oorth said groups linked to Iran could seek to carry out “destabilising activities” within the EU
- “The level of terrorist threat and violent extremism in EU territory is considered high“
MADRID: The Middle East conflict will have “immediate repercussions” for European Union security with an increased threat of terrorism, serious and organized crime as well as violent extremism and cyberattacks, European police body Europol told Spanish news agency EFE on Thursday.
Europol spokesman Jan Op Gen Oorth said he expected to see more cyberattacks against European infrastructure and an increase in online fraud using increasingly sophisticated Artificial Intelligence and exploiting the flurry of information swirling about the conflict online, EFE reported.
Groups linked to Iran could seek to carry out “destabilising activities” within the EU, he added, referring to groups linked to the so-called Axis of Resistance, the network of anti-American and Israeli Shiite militias in countries including Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. These could include terrorist attacks, intimidation campaigns, terrorist financing and cybercrime.
“The level of terrorist threat and violent extremism in EU territory is considered high,” he told the news agency.
The terror threat could be heightened by individuals acting alone or small cells acting on their own initiative, he said.
“The rapid spread of polarizing content on the Internet can accelerate short-term radicalization processes among diaspora communities within the EU and other individuals,” he said.
Europol did not immediately return a Reuters request for comment on the reported statements.
Iran and Israel on Thursday were exchanging fire on a sixth day of war after Israel and the United States launched joint air strikes on Iran on the weekend. So far the attacks have killed more than 1,000 people including Iran’s Supreme Leader, prompted Iran to attack neighbors including Qatar and UAE along with energy shipments.
