Eston Kohver

Eston Kohver (* 1971 ) is an official of the Estonian constitution protection agency Kaitsepolitseiamet . He was arrested on September 5, 2014 by a unit of an intelligence agency of the Russian Federation near a border crossing in Võru County and taken to Russia . Its tasks and the exact place where it was picked up are presented differently by the governments involved. Kohver was sentenced to 15 years in prison in August 2015 but was released a month later on an agent exchange.

Arrested at the border and imprisoned in Russia

According to the Estonian authorities, Kohver was tasked with fighting smugglers. Armed with a pistol, € 5,000 and a bugging device in his luggage that he wanted to hand over to an informant, he went to a meeting near the border crossing at Miikse. An Estonian police unit stayed nearby to provide support. The meeting was a trap, and Kohver was incapacitated with stun grenades and the Estonian support unit incapacitated by jammers and smoke grenades. Subsequently, Kohver was dragged into the forest by several men towards the Russian border.

Estonian authorities had only assumed that they would be able to solve the case in cooperation with the authorities of the Russian Federation. Initially, units of the Estonian and Russian border police carried out a joint investigation, and the location of the evidence seemed to confirm the attack on Estonian territory as described. A short time later, the responsible commander of the Russian border troops refused to sign the report.

State-controlled media of the Russian Federation meanwhile presented Kohver as an agent of NATO who had been seized on Russian territory. Kohver himself, a device described as a bugging device, a Taurus PT25 pistol and € 5,000 were shown on Russian television. Kohver was taken to Lefortovo Prison in Moscow and later tried in a Russian court.

Condemnation

In August 2015, Kohver was found guilty of espionage, illegal possession of weapons and illegally crossing borders by a court in Pskov and sentenced to 15 years of increased camp imprisonment. The Estonian government and other states protested against the Russian approach. There was neither a public hearing nor adequate legal assistance - not even the Estonian diplomatic representative was allowed to observe the proceedings. The Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the criticism and stressed that the criminal proceedings were regular and that there was no basis for doubting their legality and validity.

On the Internet platform lenta.ru , which OSCE observers have accused of being under state control, a statement by Kover's lawyer Mark Feygin was presented, in which he spoke of a deal between his client and the investigators that allegedly contained an admission of guilt. Feygin was also assigned as a lawyer for the Ukrainian soldier and politician Nadia Savchenko , who was abducted from eastern Ukraine to Russia in June or July 2014.

release

During an agent exchange between the authorities of the Russian Federation on September 26, 2015, Kohver was exchanged for Alexei Dressen, a former employee of the Estonian security authorities who is said to have spied for Russia.

Ukraine war

Estonian politicians decided not to play the conflict any further. It is believed that the raid was carried out by agencies of the Russian Federation to possibly stage a global context that Russia could use to threaten Estonia. The arrest took place two days after US President Barack Obama's visit , during which he assured NATO partners of their full support in the context of the Ukraine crisis and announced the formation of the Spearhead Rapid Reaction Force .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kaitsepolitseiamet: Kaitsepolitsei ametnik viidi Eesti territooriumilt relvaähvardusel Venemaale ( Memento of September 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). 5th September 2014
2. ↑ Taking hostages as part of a hybrid war , novayagazeta.ru, August 20, 2015
3. ↑ ^{a b} Julian Borger: Russians open new front after Estonian official is captured in “cross-border raid” . In: The Guardian . September 7, 2014
4. ↑ Julian Borger: Estonia says official seized by Russia was lured into FSB trap . In: The Guardian . September 8, 2014
5. ↑ ^{a b} Birgit Johannsmeier: Russia and Estonia - fear of the unpredictable neighbor . In: Deutschlandfunk . 22nd September 2014
6. ↑ http://www.rt.com/politics/312825-russian-court-sentences-estonian-security/
7. ↑ Will Stewart: Estonian "spy" found with pistol, cash and "recording equipment" is kidnapped in his home country by Russians and now faces 20 years in Moscow jail . In: Daily Mail . September 7, 2014, updated September 8, 2014
8. ↑ kop / dpa / AFP: "Ukraine crisis: Estonian policeman sentenced as spy in Russia" SPON from August 19, 2015
9. ^ "Russia gives Estonian security officer 15 years in prison" Washington Post, August 19, 2015
10. ↑ Reuters: "Russia Dismisses Western Criticism Over Sentenced Estonian Policeman" NYT August 20, 2015
11. ↑ Фейгин заявил о сделке осужденного за шпионаж эстонца Кохвера со следствием Lenta.Ru of August 18, 2015
12. ↑ Roland Oliphant: "Russian court sentences Ukrainian film-maker Oleg Sentsov to 20 years for 'terrorism'" The Telegraph of August 25, 2015
13. ^ Richard Martyn-Hemphill and SOPHIA Kishkovsky: "Russia and Estonia Swap Prisoners Accused of Spying", message of September 26, 2015