Agnes Joyet, the organizer of the pro-Palestinian demonstration, appealed the Administrative Court's decision not to consider the case, and the Tartu District Court agreed with the appellant that there was no justification for dismissing the appeal on the grounds of a manifest lack of standing.

"This week, the Circuit Court's order came into force, and the Tartu Administrative Court finally took up the appeal," Kalev Aavik, a lawyer representing the complainant, told ERR.

The Tartu Circuit Court found, among other things, that the task of administrative court proceedings is, first and foremost, the protection of the rights of persons against unlawful actions in the exercise of executive power.

In this case, the complainant described the actions of the Police and Border Guard Agency (PPA) as a violation of her fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and expression. "These are substantial fundamental rights that, in the circumstances described in the complaint, may be presumed to have been violated," the court said.

In December, the Tartu Administrative Court did not accept an appeal against a decision by Tartu police to ban a demonstration in support of Palestinians planned for November 18.

According to the Circuit Court, there was no preventive interest in the case. The court also considered it important that the Police and Border Guard Board, after issuing the ban, allowed the organizer to hold the same public gathering on December 2, 2023.

"The initial protest, which was banned by the police, was planned for November 18. The police issued the notice of cancellation on November 17. The next protest, for which we were able to get the police's approval only because we had a lawyer helping us who pointed out during the process that the police's demands were not in accordance with the law, was held on December 2," Joyet told ERR News.

On November 9, the police received a notification for registration of a public meeting, according to which a peaceful public gathering with information related to international law was planned to take place in Tartu Town Hall Square.

The Tartu Police Department considered a decision, but came to the conclusion that it would not allow this public meeting to take place, explaining that other people might show up at the meeting with posters that could contain justifications for aggression.

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