The trial, which began in November 2023, dealt with allegations of treason against Estonian citizens Peterson and Dmitri Rootsi, as well as claims that Peterson and Russian citizen Andrei Andronov acted against Estonia.

The charges were connected to meetings with Russian politicians, aligning policy positions, the organization of an independent civil defense organization, and a Russian-funded press trip to occupied Ukraine.

According to the indictment, Peterson and Rootsi, based on instructions received from Russia, knowingly and in an organized manner assisted Russia and people acting on behalf of Russian authorities in non-violent activities directed against the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Estonia from October 2022 to March 10, 2023.

The defendants allegedly participated in a deliberate influence campaign aimed at creating a political association – the Koos party – in Estonia that supported Russian foreign and security policy narratives and propaganda messages. According to the charges, this association was intended to create an opportunity for Russia to threaten the constitutional order of Estonia, interfere in Estonian domestic politics, and influence foreign policy.

The court also found Rootsi and Andronov guilty, sentencing them to 11 years and 11.6 years of imprisonment, respectively, starting from the date of their arrest in March 2023.

The decision has not entered into force and can be appealed. All defendants denied their guilt.

Russia's influence activities directed against Estonia

The court on Thursday established that Peterson and Rootsi assisted the Russian Federation in its influence operations targeting Estonia, the Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

Through Rootsi, Peterson was informed that there was interest in meeting and cooperating with a political party seeking to change Estonia's current political course. Peterson agreed to this, and further steps were taken. A letter of authorization was issued to Rootsi, and a meeting with politicians in Russia was planned.

The court said such actions by the Russian Federation are dangerous to Estonia, as the formation of a political party and its entry into the Riigikogu would open the possibility of covert influence on decisions within Estonia's political landscape.

Civil defense organization

Peterson and Rootsi were also accused of treason for attempting to establish an armed civil defense organization, but without assistance from Russia.

The Prosecutor's Office said there was evidence of plans to form a civil defense organization immediately after the registration of the Koos political party, which was founded in May 2022.

According to Peterson's vision, it would have been a nationwide organization and similar to charitable organizations in Donbas, in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. It was intended to provide aid to people in crises and to fulfill local defense tasks in the event of a power vacuum.

The organization would have involved individuals holding firearms licenses.

The court found that the creation of the civil defense organization was Peterson's own initiative. It was based on his belief that, in the event of further Russian aggression, no one would want to assume power.

Since it was not established that Peterson or Rootsi received instructions from Russia to create such an organization, the court did not consider this activity to constitute assisting a foreign enemy.

Policy positions

The accusation that Peterson and Rootsi aligned Koos' policy positions with Russia's foreign and security objectives was not proven.

According to the evidence, the core positions of the Koos movement were adopted at a meeting in March 2022 and have remained largely unchanged over time.

Russian-funded press trips to occupied Ukrainian territories

During the proceedings against Peterson and Andronov, the court found that Russia, at the state level, organizes and funds press trips to occupied Ukrainian territories for foreigners with pro-Russian views.

These trips are intended to encourage participants to create and distribute posts for their domestic audiences that promote messages favorable to Russia, the Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

The evidence showed that Peterson traveled through Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, made video recordings there with Andronov, and posted them on social media. Andronov also handled the organization of the visit.

Before the press trip, Peterson held a meeting with the organizers and it was agreed what materials he would create. The main message was to play on fears that the war in Ukraine could spread and agitate Western and Estonian audiences into ending their support for Kyiv, and to cause doubt toward NATO and Estonia's defense capabilities.

It was explicitly stated at the meeting that the posts were to "counter the information campaign directed against Russia," – in other words, to support Russia's state interests.

For promising to participate in the press trip as a politician running for election, Peterson's expenses were covered and he was given safety guarantees during his stay. These promises were fulfilled.

The social media posts he made during the trip followed the agreed line, and he also appeared on several Russian propaganda programs, making the same claims. In both media, he highlighted that he was a candidate in the parliamentary elections.

One of the aims of the messaging, agreed upon in advance, both in content and tone, was to increase the number of NATO and EU opponents in Estonia and neighboring countries. The court noted that this serves Russia's interests, as official Russian documents regard NATO as a hostile entity.

According to the court, such press trips are dangerous to Estonia, because the prearranged style of posts and media appearances allows for manipulation of people's political choices, stirs or amplifies disagreements between different societal groups based on fear of war, and may support the entry of individuals with pro-Russian views into politics through this kind of information influence activity.

This article was updated to add additional context about the court's verdict.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!