Estonian police record over 1,300 cases of banned symbol use
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February, the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) has registered more than 1,300 cases of the use of symbols of aggression in Estonia, 134 of which were on social media.
The main penalties handed out to those displaying symbols of aggression have been fines of between €20 and €740.
In addition to fines, court orders have also been issued for arrests in three misdemeanor cases, with the longest sentence handed out being 20 days.
"While initially the police only issued warnings, they are now taking more resolute action, including for posts made online," said police captain Maarja Punak.
"There have been a lot of these cases reported to us. We are talking about somewhere in the region of 1,300 cases since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. As for those that have led to prosecutions, we've had 400," Punak said.
"This year we actually took the position right from the start, that we had explained this to people enough, and so [continuing to do so] is no longer sufficient. As a result, we began penalizing people [who display symbols of aggression]," he added.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Michael Cole
