The hearing is scheduled for August 17, the court confirmed. If the court approves the request, Metsavas may be released under electronic monitoring.

Metsavas was detained by the Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS) in September 2018. At the time, he held a senior position at the Estonian Defense Forces General Staff.

A 15 years 6 months sentence

In February 2019, the Harju District Court found Metsavas guilty of treason and of passing official and classified information to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian armed forces General Staff (GRU). Investigators said he had cooperated with Russian military intelligence for more than ten years.

Under a plea agreement, the court sentenced Metsavas to 15 years and 6 months in prison. His father, Pjotr Volin, was also convicted of treason and received a six‑year sentence.

The former officer's sentence has been counted from his arrest in September 2018. By the time the court reviews the parole request, he will have spent nearly eight years in prison.

At the time, it was disclosed that most of the compromised information comprised state secrets, as well as internal information. The duo's activities predominantly took place in Estonia and Russia. Communications channels, as well as on-the-spot meetings, were used to hand over the information. Remuneration for passing on the information was reportedly below €20,000 in Metsavas' case.

How the officer was recruited by Russians

In 2019, in an interview with American magazine The Atlantic, Metsavas described how he was recruited by Russian authorities, and why he forwarded confidential information to them.

Metsavas was lured into a so-called honey trap while on holiday in the Russian city of Smolensk. After a night with a local woman he had met at a club, he was met by two plainclothesmen the morning after and taken to a local police station, where he was shown a video of his encounter with the woman, and told that the woman had filed a criminal complaint against him, claiming that he had raped her.

According to Metsavas, he was told that they could keep him in, and that he was looking at up to 15 years in a Russian prison. Aware of the conditions in the Russian law enforcement system, Metsavas' only thought was how to get out of this situation as soon as possible.

As he told The Atlantic, he was "arrogant" enough to think that he would able to handle the situation on his own. Afraid for his military career, he didn't talk to the Estonian authorities either.

After a few months of quiet, Metsavas met the man who would become his handler for the first time in 2008. At the time, he was asked simple questions about his private life as well as Estonia's military — according to Metsavas, none of it secret information.

But he was offered money, and he took it: the first step on his way to becoming a Russian spy, he told the magazine.

As Metsavas' military career progressed, his handler's questions became more aggressive, often revolving not only around the EDF, but also Estonia's NATO allies. Metsavas forwarded details about the armament of allied troops as well as its supplies, and was also asked about American units and operations elsewhere.

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