A criminal case was opened against 55-year-old Jüri Kivit from Tallinn after he posted a video online titled "My country has gone mad" ("Mu riik on hulluks läinud") based on the melody of the Estonian national anthem in October 2022.

The case has been brought to court based on Section 245 of the Penal Code, which states: "A person who tears down, damages, profanes or otherwise defames the Estonian flag, national coat of arms or any other official symbol of the Republic of Estonia, or defames the national anthem, is punishable by a pecuniary punishment or up to one year of imprisonment."

The Prosecutor's office said Kivit mocked the Republic of Estonia and disparaged an official symbol.

Speaking at the court hearing this week, Prosecutor Toomas Tomberg said Kivit understood what he was doing.

"The anthem of the Republic of Estonia uploaded by Jüri Kivit on his Youtube channel does not contain a single positive assessment of Estonia. Kivit's handling of the words, order and visuals of the anthem of the Republic of Estonia, and the design he uses, is absolutely mocking, degrading and insulting to the Republic of Estonia and Estonian statehood in general. In his post, Kivit did everything possible to leave the most negative impression possible of Estonia. As someone who works in advertising, he understands this very well. This was Kivit's aim," Tomberg told the court.

"Kivit argues that his work is multilayered and that only primitive people only see the first of these. But in fact there are no layers. Kivit's message is clearly one-dimensional. In my opinion, it is not possible to come to a different conclusion from the point of view of the so-called average person," added the prosecutor. "That's what makes Kivit's work a crime."

Kivit's defense attorney Anu Toomemägi-Kivistik requested the termination of the case at the pre-trial investigation stage. She said the accusations do not match the corresponding section of the Penal Code.

Toomemägi-Kivistik said no one can be convicted of a crime unless the law treats it as such. In her defense speech, she stated, among other things, that the Estonian state's symbols are the flag and the coat of arms, but not the anthem.

Kivit believes the trial is absurd.

The Prosecutor's Office said the case can be considered a precedent since previously only the desecration of the Estonian flag has been punished under Section 245.

The court spokesperson told ERR the court will reach its conclusion on April 2.

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