Speaking to "Esimene stuudio," Helme said: "This is in conflict with the Estonian constitution and with what is known in the West as freedom of religion. But on a practical level — the Ministry of the Interior is creating a catastrophic situation where we are simultaneously picking a fight with Russia and the U.S., who have stated that the persecution of Christian churches is a major focus for them. At the same time, we're staging a new 'Bronze night.' What will it look like when the nuns are removed from the Pühtitsa Convent and a padlock is put on the door of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral? What will the Russians in Ida-Viru County and Lasnamäe do then? Are we doing this new Bronze Night consciously or out of carelessness? This must not happen."

There are no examples of the Moscow Patriarchate-affiliated church in Estonia being involved in acts of terror and that the church was being punished pre-emptively, he went on.

"In the security assessments, there's not a single real example of anyone [from the MPEÕK] in Estonia supporting terrorism, engaging in anti-state activities, or subversion. They just say it might possibly become a threat in the future. This goes against the principles of a rule of law. If someone commits a crime, they should be punished — but as of now, no crime has been committed," said Helme.

The Estonian state sees the church's links to the Moscow Patriarchate as a national security issue, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

Controversy has continued over decoupling the MPEÕK from Moscow while permitting freedom of worship – with the government rejecting last year's MPEÕK statute amendments as merely cosmetic and not really a real severance with Moscow.

The church itself appealed to the Riigikogu and to the Supreme Court, though the latter declined to hear an appeal over parliament's condemnation of the church.

The complaint was jointly issued by the Pühtitsa Convent, also known as the Kuremäe Convent, located in Ida-Viru County.

The MPEÕK's former leader, Metropolitan Eugene, was last year denied a new residence permit and forced to leave the country. He had consistently expressed pro-Kremlin views.

"Bronze night" (Estonian: Pronksiöö, more usually "Bronze soldier night" in English) happened in late April 2007, after the removal and relocation of a Soviet-era statue from central Tallinn to the military cemetery east of the center was followed by several nights' rioting and looting, and one fatality.

EKRE re-elected Helme as party chairman at a congress held in Tallinn on Saturday, where he ran alone.

Helme told "Esimene stuudio" this was normal, that his mandate had simply been renewed and that "it is full-on democracy."

Helme rejected claims EKRE was in disarray, following the exodus of several high-profile leaders last summer and the formation of a new, rival right-wing party, the ERK.

The rest of the "Esimene stuudio" interview dealt with Estonia's birth rate and family values, the position of the Social Democrats (SDE) now they are in opposition – it was SDE leader Lauri Läänemets who as interior minister oversaw much of the developments concerning the MPEÕK – and Donald Trump's second term so far as U.S. president.

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