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.