"Kalle Laanet has pressured me to resign without giving clear and concrete reasons as to what is wrong," Parmas told "AK."

"This has been going on for several months," he said.

"I took this job in my good conscience. I've done the job to the best of my ability, and I don't think I've done it poorly. And I think I continue to have something to offer in that office," Parmas said.

According to Parmas, the long-term and systematic discrediting of the Public Prosecutor's Office by the Minister of Justice does not help its effectiveness.

He said Laanet's criticism is very general. "When I asked for clarification on what could have been left out or what could have been done wrong, he did not give me explanations," he said.

Parmas also explained why he decided to run for the Tallinn District Court.

"In a situation where there was an opportunity to run for the position of presiding judge of the Tallinn Circuit Court, I felt that this could be such a safe option, where this pressure would not continue to undermine prosecutors, the prosecution as an institution, and the independence of the Estonian judiciary. Today, however, the situation has changed and the minister has chosen the path of public accusation. I have no choice but to defend myself against unfounded and incomprehensible accusations," Parmas said.

"I regret that this also affects the prosecutor's office as a whole, other prosecutors and the credibility of the Estonian law enforcement and judicial system," he said.

Laanet: I told Parmas that he had the opportunity to find a more suitable position

Laanet told ERR that he had indeed advised Parmas to consider resigning.

"Last year he spent well over a month and a half abroad, running for a judge's position at the International Criminal Court, and now he is running for the position of presiding judge of the circuit court. After all, he has been looking for ways to leave the prosecution all along. He has openly said that his soul is in the court. I told him that if he didn't want to be in the prosecutor's office, he could always find a more suitable position," Laanet told ERR.

"If my communication with the prosecutor general and talking about his duties discredits the Estonian state, I would still like to understand: does the minister of justice no longer have the right to ask the prosecutor general any questions? I do not understand this," he said.

In order to determine whether Parmas' candidacy for various positions outside the Prosecutor's Office had in any way compromised the quality of the Prosecutor's Office's management, Laanet initiated an internal investigation against Parmas.

"The Ministry of Justice has a duty to monitor how an important institution such as the Public Prosecutor's Office is managed, conducts pre-trial investigations and represents the state in court. If an internal review finds something wrong, we can assess whether we need to initiate disciplinary proceedings," he said.

Laanet said there has been a lot of public criticism of the management of the prosecutor's office, and the atmosphere inside the office is not the best either.

"If we only take the number of times that I have to answer questions from members of the Riigikogu about the work of the Prosecutor's Office during question time or during question period in the Riigikogu, this already indicates that Parliament is not very satisfied with the work of the Prosecutor's Office. /.../ If we only look at the number of people who have left the prosecutor's office, either to become a judge or to go to a lower position, this is the reason to question how well the prosecutor's office is run," he said.

Laanet said that if Parmas is selected by the competition committee for the post of presiding judge of the Tallinn Circuit Court, the Council for Administration of Courts will nominate him and he will be ready to sign the document.

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