Brussels, 25/08/2015 (Agence Europe) - During a visit to Tallinn on Monday 24 August, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini underlined the EU's support to the Estonian people and authorities as regards the police officer, Eston Kohver, who is being held in Russia and has been sentenced by a Russian law court to 15 years in prison for spying. According to Mogherini, the coming days will be “crucial days”.
Mogherini said that she had discussed concrete measures with Estonia's Foreign Minister Marina Kaljurand which the European Union is taking to support the Estonian authorities in their work. “It is not for the European Union to step in but to support and to back the Estonian authorities' activities, steps and initiatives as much as it can be useful for the Estonian authorities and for the officer himself”, Mogherini told a press conference. She stated Kohver's situation was “constantly” raised with the Russian authorities, including Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, either by herself or by the EU delegation in Moscow, and she added that the EU would continue to follow the issue closely.
When Kohver's sentence was announced on 19 August, Mogherini again asked Russia to act in accordance with its international obligations; to release the Estonian officer “immediately” and to guarantee his return to Estonia in complete safety. She reiterated that his “abduction” and “subsequent illegal detention in Russia” were “a clear violation of international law”. “Mr Kohver has been deprived of the right to a fair trial: there was no public hearing of the case, the Estonian consul was not allowed to be present at the hearings, and Mr Kohver was deprived of adequate legal aid”, Mogherini stated (see EUROPE 11268). (Camille-Cerise Gessant)