Estonian Education Ministry brings civil action against Mailis Reps

TALLINN - The Estonian Ministry of Education and Research has lodged a civil action against member of the Estonian Center Party and former minister of education Mailis Reps in relation to the latter's criminal case; the ministry is not disclosing the sums sought with the action.  

Attorney Marko Kairjak told BNS that he has brought a civil action against Reps in the criminal case as the representative of the Ministry of Education and Research.

"This is a civil action lodged as part of the criminal case and when the criminal case is sent to court, [the civil action] will be reviewed together with the criminal case, which means that the court will decide if the civil action is justified together with resolving the issue of the guilt of the accused, that is whether Reps has committed the acts in question and is found guilty or not. The victim bringing a civil action is an ordinary part of proceedings in criminal cases," Kairjak said. 

The attorney said that a copy of the action cannot be shared with third parties, however. 

"The civil action is based on the suspicion brought against Mailis Reps and the acts described therein. As the circumstances serving as basis for the civil action concern an investigation that is still in its pretrial stage, the disclosure of detailed circumstances will be decided by the prosecutor's office -- the representative of the plaintiff cannot disclose the circumstances. Thus, I cannot comment on or disclose the content of the action of the sums therein in detail until the matter has been sent to court," Kairjak added.

Reps is subject to a criminal investigation because, according to the suspicion brought against her, she may have been using the ministry's resources for the benefit of herself and her family during her time of office. Reps stepped down from her ministerial post in November 2020.