Prosecutor promises clarity in alleged attack on foreign national
Mary Jordan, who claims to have fallen victim to a xenophobic attack last year, has reaffirmed that the incident took place. Although the police have ascertained no evidence that would justify further investigation, the district prosecutor is promising there will be clarity in the matter soon.
"So far there has been no proof that such an incident took place. Therefore, it is now being investigated why such information reached the police," Kaarel Kallas, spokesperson for the North District Prosecutor's Office, told ERR's Estonian-language news on Friday.
"We understand the importance of the issue and we are doing everything we can to provide the public with comprehensive explanations as soon as possible," he added.
Entrepreneur and CEO of Jobbatical, Karoli Hindriks, described in a Facebook post last year how two men had thrown rocks at an American woman, who at the time was speaking on the phone, and her dog. The incident allegedly took place on Tallinn's Stroomi beach.
Ms Hindriks' post was duly translated into English and distributed by a member of Jobbatical's staff. It quickly made it into the media. After the police couldn't find any proof that the attack had taken place, they are now looking into Ms Jordan, and the circumstances of the report of the attack.
A day after the incident on Stroomi beach, Mary Jordan turned to the police, and criminal proceedings were initiated. In the course of the investigation, the police examined video and sound recordings, interviewed witnesses and spoke to the alleged victim, aged 49, on several occasions.
"It became clear rather soon that the victim's claims do not match the evidence gathered by the police investigators, including evidence from the scene. The victim's statements were contradictory and changed over time. The evidence gathered does not indicate that the woman was in the area during the attack. As of now, we have grounds to believe that the attack described by the victim did not take place," Kaido Saarniit, head of the police station for Central Tallinn, said.
The police has initiated criminal proceedings against Mary Jordan in accordance with the article of the Penal Code concerning giving a false testimony.
Ms Jordan insists the attack took place. Ms Hindriks has since deleted her post on Facebook.
Editor: Dario Cavegn