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List of charges against Estonian national suspected of spying expanded

Estonian citizen Eston Kohver detained in Russia on espionage charges has remained in custody for nearly nine months

© Yuri Belinsky/TASS

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Moscow court extends custody term for Estonian national suspected of espionage

PSKOV, June 2. /TASS/. The Pskov regional court will consider on Tuesday the extension of the pre-trial measure for Estonian citizen Eston Kohver. In addition to smuggling, espionage, illegal border crossing, he is now also accused of the illegal bearing of arms, which entails a maximum of three additional years in prison, the court spokeswoman Yuliya Pron told TASS.

"The extension of the custody term for Kohver will be considered today at 07:00 GMT by judge Larisa Bobrova. The date of the first court hearing is expected to be announced today," Pron said.

The court confirmed that the Estonian national had been transferred from Moscow to Pskov on June 1 and would attend the hearing. Kohver detained in Russia on espionage charges has remained in custody for nearly nine months.

The trial will be closed, but the media will be informed about the beginning of court hearings, Pron added.

Kohver, an officer from the Estonian Interior Ministry’s security police department, was detained in Russia’s north-western Pskov region on September 5, 2014, for allegedly carrying out an undercover operation on the territory of Russia.

The Russian Federal Security Service reported at that time that a handgun, Ђ5,000 in cash, special covert audio recording equipment and materials indicative of a spying mission were confiscated from Kohver, when he was detained.

Estonian authorities insist that Kohver was abducted by Russian law enforcers on the territory of Estonia and then was transferred across the borderline into Russia’s Pskov Region.

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Estonia Espionage

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