A Russian court has sentenced an Estonian intelligence officer to 15 years in prison in a case that western officials have called a gross violation of international law. A court in Russia’s Pskov region, which borders Estonia, convicted Eston Kohver during a closed-doors hearing on charges of spying, possession of weapons and illegally crossing the border.

Estonian officials say Kohver was abducted on Estonian territory during an audacious cross-border raid by Russia’s FSB security service involving radio-jamming equipment and smoke grenades. “The abduction of Eston Kohver from the territory of the Republic of Estonia by the FSB on 5 September and his unlawful detainment in Russia thereafter constitute a blatant breach of international law,” the Estonian foreign minister, Marina Kaljurand, said in a statement.

Russian prosecutors insist Kohver was detained on Russian territory while carrying out an undercover mission. Estonia says Kohver was investigating a Russian smuggling ring when he was abducted. Kohver was seized on 5 September last year and since then has been held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison.

The arrest came just two days after Barack Obama visited the Estonian capital, Tallinn, in a move designed to show solidarity with the Baltic states. Nato member Estonia has a large ethnic-Russian population, and is jittery after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and intervention in east Ukraine.

Kohver was represented by a court-appointed lawyer and the Estonian consul was not allowed to attend the hearings.



The European Union’s top foreign policy official, Federica Mogherini, said Russia’s actions were “a clear violation of international law”. “Despite repeated requests, the Russian authorities have failed to resolve the issue. The EU continues to call on the Russian Federation to act according to its international obligations, release Mr Kohver immediately and guarantee his safe return to Estonia,” said Mogherini.

The UK’s minister for Europe, David Lidington, said he was “deeply concerned” by the sentence. “I have repeatedly raised my concerns about the handling of Mr Kohver’s case and called for his release during my meetings with the Russian ambassador to London,” he said in a statement released by the Foreign Office. “I urge Russia to release Mr Kohver immediately, and guarantee his safe return to Estonia.”

Masha Lipman, an independent Russian political analyst, told AFP that Kohver’s lengthy sentence was a sign of Moscow’s deteriorating ties with Europe. “The relationship with Europe has already hit its lowest level in the post-Soviet period,” Lipman said. “This move exacerbates the confrontation between Russia and the EU.”

In a Facebook post, the Estonian president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, called on his compatriots to wear yellow ribbons in support of Kohver.