Russian court sentences Eston Kohver to 15 years imprisonment

On Wednesday August 19, a court in the Russian town of Pskov sentenced Eston Kohver, a member of the Estonian Internal Security Service, to 15 years in jail.

Kohver was also fined 100,000 euros.

The court found Kohver guilty of espionage, nine counts of illegal border-crossing, plus the possession and smuggling of a firearm.

The prosecutor originally sought a 16-year jail sentence for Kohver, who pleaded not guilty. 

Russian news agencies quoted Judge Yulia Ulanova as saying the court would hand over the cash, a pistol and a recording device found on Kohver to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

On September 5, 2014, the Estonian Internal Security Service confirmed Kohver had been arrested by the FSB on Estonian territory near the checkpoint of Luhamaa on the Estonian-Russian border.

Kohver, who was performing official duties related to the prevention of cross-border crime, was taken to Russia at gunpoint at 9 a.m. that morning.

The abduction took place under operational radio communication interference and the use of a smoke grenade.

Kohver was held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison of Moscow until his transfer to Pskov for the trial.