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The court of the Lefortovo region of Moscow on Thursday extended the term of custody for Estonian security official Eston Kohver, held in Russia on espionage charges, until June 5.
Russian court extends custody for Estonian security official till June 5
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The attorney for Kohver, Yevgeny Aksyonov, said the Estonian consul was not present at Thursday's court sitting.
Kohver is about to be tried by a court in the Russian regional capital Pskov. The court is to start hearing the case in May and by that time he should get a new defense lawyer, Aksyonov told BNS earlier this week.
"The court hearing will take place in the Russian region where, according to charges, Kohver committed the crime, which means in Pskov, in the oblast court. For the time of the proceedings Kohver will be transfered from Lefortovo to the pre-trial detention facility there. Most likely he will have a new lawyer then because no-one will pay me for living and working in the Pskov Oblast," Aksyonov said.
Aksyonov could not give an answer to the question regarding who will be the next defense attorney of Kohver.
The court of the Lefortovo region of Moscow in December 2014 remanded Kohver in custody until April 5.
The Estonian Internal Security Service said on Sept. 5, 2014 that a member of its staff had been deprived of his freedom on Estonian territory near the checkpoint of Luhamaa on the Estonian-Russian border by unidentified individuals coming from Russia at 9 a.m. that morning. The official, who was performing official duties related to the prevention of cross-border crime, was taken to Russia at gunpoint using physical force. The abduction was preceded by interference of operational radio communication and use of a smoke grenade from the direction of Russia.