The prosecutor who charged Kingo should also themselves be jailed, Helme added.

Speaking to ETV politics show "Esimene stuudio" Tuesday, the EKRE leader said: "My claim is that this was not a fair trial, I claim that the judge didn't even consider the defense's arguments but simply transmuted the prosecution's charges into a verdict. And I claim that this is purely political persecution. This is being done by the Prosecutor's Office."

He also said that State Prosecutor Vahur Verte should be imprisoned.

"Prosecutor Verte should be jailed. The Supreme Court ruled that he submitted falsified evidence to the court. Let me remind you, Kert Kingo was charged with document forgery. In reality, the 'forgery' simply meant this: That she altered an invoice as the accountant asked what this invoice's content was. And for that, they are demanding two years prison time."

Helme also said that State Prosecutor Taavi Pern is "behind the case" and has made similar, also stating that Prosecutor Verte had been accused by the Supreme Court of falsifying evidence and illegally influencing witnesses.

When Kingo was a deputy chair of the Riigikogu Anti-Corruption Select Committee, she repeatedly criticized the Internal Security Service (ISS, also known as the Kapo and whose oversight fell under the committee's remit) and this was behind the case too, Helme said.

"This is pure political revenge," he added.

He also reiterated a claim Kingo had made that usually MPs found to have incorrectly used expense reimbursements are simply asked to return the funds and that it is at MPs' discretion what constitutes expenses relating to their role.

"Usually, the real punishment is public scorn or not being re-elected," Helme went on.

No one in Estonia can feel safe, Helme added, as at any moment, the Prosecutor's Office might bring a criminal case against them, to be followed by an arbitrary penalty.

"This is not a state governed by law; it's not even a banana republic. The Soviet court system was like this. But I refuse to accept that we live under such a system," he went on.

Helme reiterated that Kingo, whose parliamentary immunity had to be revoked before the county court hearing could go ahead, had done nothing wrong, and that their expense reimbursements are tied to their work-related expenses.

As to host Andres Kuusk's question whether EKRE, in opposing all and sundry, might end up being isolated, Helme said he would be "very happy if we stand alone with truth and justice.

"If no one else is with us, then we are the only ones who can be turned to on this question," he added.

The first-tier Harju County Court this found Kert Kingo (EKRE), a member of the Riigikogu, guilty of fraud and sentenced her to a prison term of one year and nine months, in suspended sentence, with a two-year probationary period.

Martin Traat also was sentenced to six months in prison in suspended sentence, for aiding in fraud.

The charge sheet stated that Kingo had knowingly submitted to the Riigikogu invoices from a law firm for various consulting services supposedly related to her duties as a member of parliament, but which in fact were not so related.

Kingo has also been charged €1,230 in costs.

The rest of the "Esimene stuudio" interview dealt with the 2025 state budget and the accompanying tax hikes and budgetary cuts.

Helme, a former finance minister, said things will get even harder in Estonia, even as this could have been avoided – not via tax hikes, but with tax cuts.

The tax hikes will lead to undesirable outcomes such as a rise in tax evasion, bakruptcies, and the flight of companies to other countries, while the cuts are not focused on the right places, ie. they shouldn't hit education, healthcare and culture, he said.

The justification that all this is to fund defense spending in the current security situation is "a lie" he added, saying the bulk of spend goes on Rail Baltica, the Green Transition and some other non-defense related areas.

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