Prosecution likely to appeal Port of Tallinn ruling

The Prosecutor's Office will likely appeal the acquittal verdict in the Port of Tallinn case handed down by the first-instance court last week, said state prosecutor Maria Entsik.
"There is certainly a possibility for that. Considering that the decision was so lengthy – over 400 pages – we are currently reading it together, and we have a meeting planned for Thursday to decide on the focus of the appeal," said Maria Entsik, chief state prosecutor of the 2nd indictment department of the Public Prosecutor's Office, on Monday's "Vikerhommik" program.
"Although the usual time allotted for an appeal – 30 days – is generally reasonable, in light of the scale of this case, it is quite a challenge. The Prosecutor's Office will have to decide what to focus on in these disputes," Entsik noted.
On Thursday, Harju County Court announced a verdict acquitting the defendants in the Port of Tallinn case, which had been ongoing for five and a half years, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The court found that, contrary to the prosecutor's charges, the members of the Port of Tallinn's management board did not act as officials.
Harju County Court delivered a decision in the Port of Tallinn criminal case, where Ain Kaljurand was accused of taking bribes and money laundering as an official, Martin Paide of taking bribes as an official, Eno Saar of giving bribes to an official, Tõnis Pohla and Üllar Raad of giving bribes to an official, Toivo Promm of aiding and abetting both taking and giving bribes, and money laundering, and Jan Paszkowski of giving bribes to an official.
Since the court found that Kaljurand and the now-deceased Allan Kiil did not act as officials, their actions were reclassified as giving and mediating bribes in the private sector, which are second-degree crimes and thus have expired. While the statute of limitations for first-degree crimes exceeds ten years, for second-degree crimes, it is five years.
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Editor: Mait Ots, Marcus Turovski