Mati-Dmitri Terestal has been accused of intentionally violating international sanctions and making different economic resources available to Dmitry Kiselyov, director general of Rossiya Segodnya, who the EU has sanctioned, the Office of the Prosecutor General said on Tuesday,

MIA Rossiya Segodnya is a media group that also includes publications operating under the Sputnik trademark.

Sputnik's operations in Estonia were closed on December 31, 2019 after sanctions were imposed on Kiselyov. Employees, including Mati-Dmitri Terestal and manager Elena Cherysheva, were told they would break international sanctions if they continued to work for the outlet. The pair were detained in April 2022.

Despite this, the charges show Terestal and Cherysheva jointly and knowingly continued to publish information in Estonia in the name of Sputnik which operated under the control of MIA Rossiya Segodnya.

The charges state the pair made different economic resources available to Kiselyov and intentionally violated international sanctions from January 1, 2020 to March 8, 2022, when they were arrested as suspects.

The EU banned the Sputnik news agency's activities in March 2022 to combat misinformation and information manipulation by the Kremlin.

Based on the charges, Terestal and Cherysheva published information related to the Sputnik trademark after March 2, 2022, intentionally violating international sanctions in addition to their previous violation of international sanctions.

Chief State Prosecutor Taavi Pern said Russia's hostile activities must not be taken lightly.

"According to the charges, Mati-Dmitri Terestal and Elena Cherysheva were aware that they were violating international sanctions with their activity, however, they continued operating under the Sputnik trademark in Estonia regardless. They received more than €500,000 from Russia to fund Sputnik's operations, and used the funds to act for the benefit of Kiselyov, head of Rossiya Segodnya, who is subject to sanctions," said Pern.

"The purpose of international sanctions imposed on Russia is to restrict Russia's activity in the fields that may be exploited in potential hostile activities or military action against other states. Thus, the sanctions primarily protect Estonia's security and interests, while also restricting Russia's unlawful military operations in Ukraine. The impact of evading sanctions is the opposite," added Chief State Prosecutor Pern.

After the charges had been filed, the Prosecutor's Office applied for committing suspect Cherysheva in custody to prevent her from continuing to commit criminal offences and evading the proceedings. The court did not grant the application of the Prosecutor's Office, Cherysheva left Estonia and continues to evade the proceedings. She has been declared an international fugitive from justice for this reason.

The pre-trial proceedings were conducted by the Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS).

The agency reported last year that Cherysheva, the former head of Russian propaganda channel Sputnik Estonia, is currently working in the media in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. 

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