Bodies of Estonian resistance members killed in Voru County had been defiled - police

Photo: Erakogu

The ten members of the Forest Brothers resistance movement whose bodies were discovered in Voru County in 2011 had been shot in a helpless state and their bodies had been defiled, it appears from an inquiry conducted by the Estonian security police the findings of which were published in the annual review of the security police on Friday.

In 2011, the security police were informed of the discovery of either a war grave or a secret burial site in the Reedopalu forest next to the Voru-Valga highway 1.6 kms from the town of Voru. The location was the same as indicated in statements by locals and relatives of former Forest Brothers about the existence of a secret grave where victims of the occupying Soviet forces had been buried.

Examining the skeletons, the Estonian Forensic Science Institute (EFSI) established that the seven males, including one minor, and three females buried in the common grave had died a violent death more than 40 years ago. The injuries discovered on the bodies were not similar to injuries typically sustained in battle, as the victims had been shot repeatedly in the head and the chest, whereas in other parts of the body there were substantially fewer gunshot wounds, suggesting that the already wounded victims, in a state of helplessness, were shot from a short distance with a volley of bullets or with repeated single shots from the same direction.

Furthermore, the individuals had been severely beaten in the head and face with a hard, blunt object with a rigid contact surface. After they had been killed, the individuals' faces were beaten, probably with the butt of a rifle, to make their identification more difficult should local residents discover the common grave. Besides many of the skeletons displayed pelvic fractures, possibly caused by blows executed with a blunt object or strong pressure caused by a car driving over the body.

In parallel with the forensic examination, investigators went through information on missing persons and killings committed in the Voru region after World War II.

In was established that all the ten victims had been killed in battles in the area of the Viglasoo and Puutlipalu bunkers of the Forest Brothers on March 27 and 29, 1953. Their bodies were taken for identification to the Voru department of the Interior Ministry where on March 30 and 31, 1953 they were shown for recognition to Forest Brothers who had been captured earlier. The bodies were not released to relatives and the burial site of the victims was kept secret in accordance with a regulation from Aug. 9, 1946 that ordered Soviet security agencies to conceal the corpses of killed resistance members after photographing and identification.

All the ten victims have been identified by Estonian law enforcement using DNA by now.