The justice chancellor made her remarks speaking to the Estonian Bar Association (Eesti Advokatuur) at its annual general meeting Friday.

She said: "What do people who are neither suspected nor accused of a crime have to feel and think when they have to read in the newspaper their secretly wiretapped conversations, which have no relevance in proving any crime?" Madise said.

"How does this material end up in court files yet from there become fodder for the 'court' of the internet?" she went on.

"Esteemed lawyers, this is being done to our own people, by our own state. And we have all allowed it to happen; we all have a share in culpability," Madise said.

Leaks like this can lead to a mistrust of the state and its organs, the justice chancellor went on.

"My proposal is this: Let's put an end to the sowing of distrust and resentment toward the state. I am already encountering fellow citizens who have remarked that it feels like the old Soviet era is back—when speaking on the phone, it is better to stay silent," Madise concluded.

Some media reports have repeatedly included descriptions of interactions based on information gathered via covert surveillance, even if said information has no direct connection to any charges brought or the subsequent court rulings.

Media outlets generally obtain these details from court files and rulings, where they have been included based on materials submitted by prosecutors.

The highest-profile recent case where this happened covered the communications made by businessman Parvel Pruunsild with individuals associated with the Isamaa party, chiefly in Tartu.

Pruunsild was, however, subsequently acquitted.

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