By a decision of the Supreme Court's criminal chamber, Heiki Terras was partly rehabilitated, on the grounds that the thefts and other illegal actions represented actions against the Soviet regime which occupied Estonia at the time.

Back in 1979, at the age of 18, Heiki had taken part in a major theft of weapons, led by underworld figure Imre Arakas.

The Supreme Court last considered someone's rehabilitation decades ago.

Terras had something of a form even prior to the 1979 incident.

During the Soviet occupation of Estonia, travel outside the Soviet bloc was difficult to impossible for most; in 1977 Terras had been convicted of attempting to travel abroad without the valid documentation.

The attempt, on the last day of September through to the first day of October that year, failed, when the engine of the boat in which Terras was attempting to abscond broke down.

Terras was returned that morning to the Estonian shoreline by the current and winds.

The youth was also charged with breaking and entering, into a boat house belonging to the Estonian SSR coastguards' Tallinn station.

Along with Terras, Arakas took part in the break-in, which took place in August 1977, when a rubber dinghy with an outboard motor was stolen.

In the subsequent months, the pair also stole a boat motor from the "Dynamo" sports club's canoe boat house, two stereo tape recorders together with their speakers, from the Tallinn Conservatory, now the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater, and similar equipment from the Tallinn music school hosted in the same building.

In the fall of 1978, Terras and Arakas next stole a leather uniform jacket, ten indicator tubes and road maps, all from a traffic inspection car.

They also stole various archery equipment from the "Dynamo" archery stadium, plus two outboard engines, the latter from the Tartu coastguard's harbor station.

The Supreme Court of the Estonian SSR had also convicted Terras of stealing a leather folder, breaking into and stealing a vehicle, and breaking into the shooting range belonging to a sports club, again called "Dynamo," a fairly common name for such organizations at the time.

There, he and Arakas threatened the storekeeper with a pistol, struck him with the butt of the same weapon, demanded the armory keys, and looted 13 pistols plus 1,248 rounds.

In respect of these crimes, Terras was sentenced to 11 years at a Soviet maximum-security corrective penal colony.

In July of this year, Terras applied for a review of that Supreme Court's decision and ruling, requesting rehabilitation.

According to his application, all his actions were motivated by a desire to act in resistance to the occupying regime.

This week, investigative weekly Eesti Ekspress reported that appeals of this kind are rare; the Supreme Court last reviewed a rehabilitation case more than 20 years ago.

All individuals convicted of fleeing abroad during the Soviet occupation of Estonia had already been rehabilitated thanks to a decision by the Supreme Council of Estonia in 1992, shortly after the country had become independent again.

However, an armed robbery conviction even dating back to the Soviet era did not automatically mean an individual was eligible for rehabilitation.

Much depended on the specific circumstances of the crimes in question, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

In order to declare rehabilitation, Supreme Court judges must be able to determine that the actions underlying the conviction were related to the fight for Estonia's independence, or against injustices committed against the Estonian people.

On Friday, the Supreme Court made its final decision, implying that Terras' actions indeed related to Estonia's fight for independence.

The top court's criminal chamber found that the seizure of the rubber dinghy and outboard motor in 1977 were linked to a bid to flee abroad, in contravention of Soviet law.

While the first escape failed, Terras still demonstrated an intention to flee in the following fall in 1978, meaning the seizure of the two boat motors formed a part of his escape preparations.

Consequently, the chamber deemed it viable to rehabilitate Terras.

Terras was also rehabilitated in respect of the theft and otherwise illegal acquisition of weapons and ammunition and for seizing a uniform and documents from a Soviet police car.

According to his explanation, the police represented enemies of the Estonian people and tools of the repressive occupying regime.

During the pre-trial investigation, Terras openly stated his motives, claiming he planned armed resistance in various Estonian cities and against the occupiers.

The chamber reviewed a psychiatric examination report from the time, which backed up Terras's claims.

According to the report, his anti-Soviet views had begun to develop as early as the fifth grade in high school.

However, the chamber determined that the break-in at the Tallinn Conservatory and the theft of tape recorders and speakers from both there and the music school in the same building, as well as the theft of a car, had no connection to the fight for Estonia's independence or resistance to injustices against the Estonian people.

These motives cannot be identified from the criminal case materials, and therefore Terras cannot be rehabilitated in respect of these actions, the court found.

Hence, the court partly satisfied Terras' rehabilitation request.

Terras also requested €395.28 from the state in legal aid fees relating to the Supreme Court.

The chamber found the defense counsel's actions necessary and the requested amount justified. This procedural cost will therefore be borne by the Estonian state.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!