Two pro-Russian politicians sentenced in Estonia
12 December 08:19
On Thursday, December 11, the Harju District Court in Estonia sentenced pro-Russian politicians Ivo Peterson and Dmitri Rootsi to 14 and 11 years in prison in a treason case, and Russian citizen Andrei Andronov to 11 years in prison for participating in non-violent activities against the country, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing DW.
All three were detained in March 2023. The court considered it proven that Peterson – one of the leaders of the conservative movement Koos (“Together”), created in 2021 – and Rootsi helped Russia influence Estonian politics. It is noted that thanks to Rootsi, Peterson got in touch with Russian government agencies, and a meeting was planned with representatives of a party that is part of the State Duma.
The two were also accused of “creating a civil defense organization” that was to be founded immediately after Koos was registered as a party in May 2023. According to Peterson’s plans, it, “similar to charitable organizations in Donbas,” was supposed to “provide assistance to people in crisis situations and perform self-defense functions in a power vacuum.” The organization was to include, among others, “representatives of defense structures”. However, the court found no evidence that Russia had given instructions for its creation.
Andronov organized press tours to the occupied regions of Ukraine
An Estonian court found Russian citizen Andrey Andronov guilty of organizing press tours for foreigners with pro-Russian views to the regions occupied by Russia during the war in Ukraine. Ivo Peterson participated in them and published materials supporting Moscow’s actions. For example, he traveled to the Russian-occupied Mariupol and Donetsk and appeared on the Zvezda TV channel, which belongs to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The court found that “Peterson’s frightening posts about the war were intended to encourage Western and Estonian audiences to stop supporting Ukraine and make the audience doubt NATO and Estonia’s defense capabilities.”
Peterson made similar statements with the participation of “several Russian propaganda programs”. It is also noted that, while communicating with the Russian side, he positioned himself as a politician, future party chairman and candidate for the Estonian parliament.
