The Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of former police officials Eerik Heldna, Elmar Vaher and Aivar Alavere in a criminal case concerning the awarding of a police pension to Heldna.

According to Minister Pakosta (Eesti 200), it had been clear from the first instance that the police officials had not acted unlawfully. "Legal clarity should be achieved in a way that does not come at the expense of people's lives and futures," she added.

"I don't believe this process was fair and I sincerely want to apologize on behalf of the Estonian state to Elmar Vaher and the other police officials," Pakosta said.

The justice minister emphasized that the Prosecutor's Office is independent and that no politician may interfere in its work.

In defense of the prosecution, Pakosta noted that the vast majority of cases brought to court by the Prosecutor's Office are upheld. "This one case was simply like a drop of tar in a pot of honey," she added.

"The Prosecutor's Office has said it pursued this case in order to obtain legal clarity. In my view, seeking legal clarity at such a high and painful cost to the Estonian state, especially in the case of individuals who have loyally served the country, was not fair," Pakosta said.

The prosecution had accused Heldna of submitting false information to the Social Insurance Board (SKA) in order to qualify for a police pension, allegedly with the help of Vaher and Alavere. Based on those documents, Heldna's police service was recorded as beginning in April 2019. In reality, he was only formally a police officer at that time, while actually serving in the Defense Forces and later at the Tax and Customs Board (MTA).

MP: Prosecutorial mistakes eroding trust in the rule of law

Kalle Laanet (Reform), a member of the Riigikogu and former minister of justice who is currently facing fraud charges, wrote on social media that prosecutorial errors destroy lives and erode public trust in the rule of law.

"People make mistakes, including doctors and teachers, whose errors often come at the highest cost. (Very) subjectively, I would rank prosecutors third on that list because their mistakes also destroy lives and, worse yet, faith in the rule of law," Laanet wrote.

"This is genuinely troubling, because first, many of us don't have the time or expertise to dig into even the most high-profile legal cases, let alone the smaller ones. Second, this becomes a weapon for useful idiots who preach about a looming or already existing Orwellian Ministry of Offenses — which, thankfully, isn't true," he added.

Laanet suggested that, if necessary, a collegial body should be able to intervene in the work of the Prosecutor's Office, within a legally defined framework.

"To put it simply — if a prosecutor has already taken a beating in the first instance, then before rushing to the next level, some kind of panel should step in, take a look inside and assess the evidence gathered. Ideally, it would also review the motives behind launching the case, but maybe that's asking too much," Laanet wrote.

Prosecutors have accused Laanet of knowingly submitting claims for rental reimbursements in 2022 and 2023, while serving as both justice minister and Riigikogu member, based on a lease agreement signed with a related party.

According to the charges, the rental contract was signed with a private company owned and solely managed by his wife's son. Because officials at the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Riigikogu were unaware of this connection and had no way to verify it, more than €13,000 in housing rental costs were allegedly reimbursed to Laanet without legal grounds.

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