Courts say convicted traitor Herman Simm to remain behind bars
Tartu County Court has ruled that Herman Simm, who was convicted of treason in 2009 and sentenced to twelve and a half years in prison must remain there and cannot be freed earlier than the term of his sentence.
Tartu Prison, where Mr. Simm, 71, is incarcerated, had itself supported his release but was overruled by the court.
Harju County Court found Simm guilty of treason on 25 February 2009 for passing on information to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) over a period of nearly 13 years.
His sentence was backdated to 19 September 2008, around the time he was first arrested, and he is scheduled to be freed on 8 March 2021.
Simm was also requested to pay damages amoutning to EEK 20,515,00 (the Estonian Kroon was the national currency at the time of his trial), which amounts to about €1,380,000.
Simm is a former chief of the security department of the Estonian Ministry of Defence. He had served in the Soviet Militsiya (military police) in the Estonian SSR, attaining the rank of Pokolvnik, roughly equivalent to that of Colonel in most English-speaking countries.
Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: ERR Uudised
