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Estonian security service detains member of Afghan war veterans' association

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The Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS) on Monday arrested a member of the association of veterans of the Afghanistan war, Karl Paks.

A spokesman for the ISS confirmed the arrest to BNS but said the agency will not comment on the criminal case in connection with which Paks was detained so as not to prejudice the investigation. He also declined comment on whether other arrests had been made.

The Estonian authorities have launched a criminal probe to verify the allegations that a former employee of the ISS, Uno Puusepp, worked for the Russian security service FSB for years. Puusepp worked as a technical specialist at the ISS from Nov. 13, 1991 to April 8, 2011, when he retired.

The security police and the Public Prosecutor's Office are investigating the Puusepp case under treason provisions of the Penal Code.

FSB claims that it had an agent in the ISS for 20 years, Russian news agency Interfax said on Sunday with reference to the NTV television channel.

According to Interfax Puusepp, one of the few ex-KGB officers to be employed by the Estonian security service after Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union, forwarded Estonian, NATO and American secrets to Russia.

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