Three men were last week sentenced to between 14 and 11 years of prison in Estonia, accused of conducting pro-Russian ”influence operations” in the country.
The case started in 2023, when the leader of the Koos party (Together), Aivo Peterson, 55, was arrested on his return from an allegedly Russian-funded press trip to Donbass, where he claimed that the so-called massacre in Bucha was in fact a poorly staged Ukrainian false flag operation (reported on by NewsVoice at the time).
State Prosecutor Triinu Olev-Aas alleged that the ”defendants deliberately assisted Russia in activities directed against the Estonian state and society” by spreading ”narratives supporting Russia’s foreign and security policy.”
Although the judges cleared the accused of aligning the Koos party’s policies with Russian objectives—finding that its core positions (withdrawal from NATO, neutrality, reduced defence spending) were adopted independently—they convicted Peterson and his co-defendants on charges of coordinating with Russian officials and participating in Russian-funded propaganda trips.
The court cleared Peterson of establishing a civil defence organisation under Russian direction, finding it was his own initiative.
Main defendant Aivo Peterson at the time of his arrest by Estonian authorities:
”There are two sides to every conflict, but the information we receive from Estonian media is one-sided. All of our journalists support Kiev, which often comes across as propaganda.”
The level and nature of government suppression of political parties and media offering alternative views to that of the government, is indicated when comparing the convictions with those given for recent violent crimes in Estonia:
- 3 years, 9 months: A mother strangled her newborn baby to death (2024, granted early release November 2025)
- 9 years, 6 months: Two minors tortured a 59-year-old man to death with at least 50 blows, filmed it, and shared the video on social media (March 2025)
- 6 years: A man was convicted of raping a minor, receiving the minimum sentence (December 2025)
- 18 years: A man deliberately set fire to a camper trailer, burning two people alive (June 2025)
- 18 years: A man murdered his landlady with a hammer and dismembered her body (2020)
Peterson, a former border guard who has yet to secure elected office despite strong showings, received nearly 4,000 votes in the 2023 parliamentary elections and campaigned from prison in the 2024 European Parliament vote, drawing support from Estonia’s Russian-speaking minority.
The case has received minimal coverage beyond state broadcaster ERR, with no reporting on public reaction. The judicial panel’s composition remains undisclosed; only Judge Katrin Mikenberg has been named in available sources, with no clarity on whether she sat alone or with colleagues. Swedish media have ignored the story entirely despite shared Baltic security concerns.
RT reports that Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calls Estonia ”one of the most hostile countries” in Europe, whilst accusing Tallinn of ”spreading myths and falsehoods about the supposed threat from the East.”
The verdict can be appealed within 30 days.
