The prosecution accuses Humal of breaching procedural restrictions and Pruunsild of aiding in the same crime, in relation to a real estate deal in Estonia's second city.

Both prosecutor and defense delivered their opening statements, with the judicial investigation getting underway.

The prosecution has charged Humal with breaching procedural restrictions on a particularly large scale, and Pruunsild of aiding and abetting in the same.

The charges related to the sale of an exhibition building formerly belonging to the Estonian National Museum (ERM) to the fraternity Korp! Sakala, which Pruunsild is a member of.

According to the indictment, Humal, in his role as deputy mayor of Tartu, participated in various city government meetings, discussions, and sessions related to the relinquishment of the ERM property, located on Kuperjanovi 9.

Humal allegedly expressed both his own and Pruunsild's position that the city should forgo acquiring the property, allowing Pruunsild to achieve his desired outcome.

Pruunsild wanted the property to go to the Sakala fraternity; In January 2023, Sakala did acquire the ERM property at auction, at a price-tag of €1.22 million.

Neither defendant admitted any guilt in the case, according to Tartu Courts' press representative Siim Saavik.

A total of 26 hearing days have been scheduled for the trial of both defendants.

The case also attracted attention after revelations two Internal Security Service (ISS) operatives had attended a Sakala function in the course of their investigations. This attention snowballed after the story, which revealed they had attended under pseudonyms, temporarily could not be shared on Facebook.

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