PPA loses border breach court case: 'Marking Narva River border difficult'
The Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) told the daily Põhjarannik, following a court verdict in a border violation case that annulled the fine imposed by PPA, that the Narva River border has many locations where it is difficult to mark the border.
"The answer to this problem is more complex than it may seem," Eve Kalmus, head of the border management bureau of the PPA, told Põhjarannik (link in Estonian). "Although the PPA is the authority that has the right to install border markers, transnational borders and their demarcation are determined by transnational agreements and in the case of the Narva River we are not talking about a national border, but a temporary control line."
Kalmus said that the situation is further complicated by the fact that cooperation with Russia is not running smoothly, which "leads to the fact that floating signs are not installed in all places on the Narva River."
She said that in light of the court's decision, the PPA will certainly draw its own conclusions: "Of course, it is important to us that the border markings are easily understood by everyone. We have also been in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this issue."
June 9 this year, Estonian border guards detained a man in Alutaguse Rural Municipality, who on that day went on a boat about 40 meters to the Russian side and then returned to Estonia, which the Police and Border Guard Board considered as an illegal border crossing and fined the man €200, the daily reported earlier.
A man who illegally crossed the Narva River into Russia did not accept the fine imposed on him and won a court case, due to the fact that the border was not marked at the place of violation.
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Editor: Kristina Kersa