Paet: Kohver case is a farce
Former Estonian foreign minister and current MEP Urmas Paet said that anything brought up against captured Estonian official Eston Kohver in court in Russia will be fabricated and has no real substance.
“The case is aimed at increasing the authority of Russian secret services in the eyes of FSB staff and the whole of Russia. The price of that propaganda has so far been eight months of wasted time in Eston Kohver's life,” Paet said.
“We should pay no attention to Kohver's court case and the so called charges and their details. We do not have to go along with the FSB's adventure. The kidnapping and imprisonment of Kohver is violation of international law and any move made by Russia against him is just a farce,” he said.
Paet said the longer Kohver is held in Russia the more damage Russia's international image receives.
According to Kohver's state-appointed lawyer, he was recently charged with two new crimes of illegal weapon transportation and illegally crossing into Russia, on top of the earlier charge of espionage. It is currently unknown when the actual trial in Pskov, Russia, will begin.
Kohver was captured from Estonia soil on September 5 last year, a few days after US President Barack Obama's visit to Tallinn.
Editor: J.M. Laats