According to Lauri Laats, chair of the Center Party's parliamentary group, it is incomprehensible why the Office of the Prosecutor General chose not to initiate criminal proceedings against Pihlakodu AS, despite a supervisory report from the Social Insurance Board and evidence showing serious shortcomings in the nursing home's operations.

"Under Minister Pakosta's leadership, a system has been created where repeated rapes can be committed against helpless women with dementia without anyone being held truly accountable. This is not only a failure in legal judgment, but also a moral collapse for which the Ministry of Justice cannot evade responsibility," Laats said. "Today's news reveals that reports of rape at the care home have been circulating for at least two years."

Martin Helme, chair of the EKRE parliamentary group, said that bringing 600 male prisoners convicted of especially heinous crimes from Sweden to Tartu Prison would significantly increase Estonia's national security risks.

"When it came to the prosecution's blunders, Pakosta tried to wriggle out of responsibility by claiming that as a minister she could not intervene in that field and that Estonia is a rule-of-law state. But the initiative to rent out prison space and literally import rapists and murderers to Tartu Prison for pocket change was hers alone, and she must bear political responsibility for it," Helme said.

Helir-Valdor Seeder, chair of the Isamaa group, added that instead of solving problems, Minister Pakosta has engaged in evasion and self-justification.

"Security agencies and experts have also raised concerns, warning that potential risks may not be fully mitigatable or foreseeable. The minister's duty is to safeguard Estonia's independence and security, but this plan endangers both public safety and the sense of societal security," Seeder explained. "In addition, the minister has withheld her real plans from the public, claiming that no agreements have been made and that renting out prison space is merely under consideration."

Lauri Läänemets, chair of the Social Democratic Party's parliamentary group, criticized the minister's handling of the competition law reform.

"The abrupt U-turn in processing the competition law does not support a fair business environment and instead protects narrow business interests. Moreover, it has led to significant fines from the European Commission for the Estonian state," Läänemets said.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook, Bluesky and X and never miss an update!