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| Russia jails Estonian police officer allegedly abducted on border | Russia jails Estonian police officer allegedly abducted on border |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| An Estonian police officer allegedly abducted by Russia in a cross-border raid was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday, further stoking tensions between Moscow and the former Soviet republic. | An Estonian police officer allegedly abducted by Russia in a cross-border raid was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday, further stoking tensions between Moscow and the former Soviet republic. |
| Russia arrested Eston Kohver on espionage charges last September, saying the Estonian was caught on Russian territory, but Tallinn maintains he was taken at gunpoint at a border crossing. | Russia arrested Eston Kohver on espionage charges last September, saying the Estonian was caught on Russian territory, but Tallinn maintains he was taken at gunpoint at a border crossing. |
| The sentence will put further strain on already frayed relations between the two countries, which have deteriorated since Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine last year. | The sentence will put further strain on already frayed relations between the two countries, which have deteriorated since Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine last year. |
| “I strongly condemn verdict on Eston Kohver; his illegal detention constitutes a grave violation of international law by the Russian Federation,” the Estonian prime minister, Taavi Rõivas, tweeted. | |
| The European Union said Kohver’s detention was illegal and called for his immediate release. | |
| “Mr Kohver has been deprived of the right to a fair trial. There was no public hearing of the case,” EU foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, said. | |
| Kohver will serve his sentence in a Russian hard labour camp and be fined 100,000 roubles (£970), the Interfax news agency quoted his lawyer as saying outside the Pskov regional court, where Estonian and EU diplomats gathered to protest against the conviction. | Kohver will serve his sentence in a Russian hard labour camp and be fined 100,000 roubles (£970), the Interfax news agency quoted his lawyer as saying outside the Pskov regional court, where Estonian and EU diplomats gathered to protest against the conviction. |
| “Together with our allies and partners, we intend to keep up international pressure until Eston Kohver is released and has returned home to his family,” the Estonian foreign minister, Marina Kaljurand, said in a statement. | “Together with our allies and partners, we intend to keep up international pressure until Eston Kohver is released and has returned home to his family,” the Estonian foreign minister, Marina Kaljurand, said in a statement. |
| Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Kohver was detained carrying a Taurus handgun with ammunition, €5,000 (£3,500) in cash, special equipment for concealed audio recording and documents that “bear evidence of an intelligence mission”. | |
| Tallinn said he was taken trying to stop illegal activity on the border when unidentified abductors jammed radio communications and used smoke grenades. | Tallinn said he was taken trying to stop illegal activity on the border when unidentified abductors jammed radio communications and used smoke grenades. |
| In recent years, the border has seen a number of incidents involving the smuggling of goods, weapons and migrants. | In recent years, the border has seen a number of incidents involving the smuggling of goods, weapons and migrants. |
| Estonia and other former Soviet republics in the Baltics, which now belong to both the EU and Nato, have urged both organisations to take a tough stance towards Russia over its actions in Ukraine, where the west says Moscow is sending troops across the border to support separatist rebels. | Estonia and other former Soviet republics in the Baltics, which now belong to both the EU and Nato, have urged both organisations to take a tough stance towards Russia over its actions in Ukraine, where the west says Moscow is sending troops across the border to support separatist rebels. |
| Moscow has repeatedly denied these accusations. | Moscow has repeatedly denied these accusations. |