Kohver additionally charged with smuggling, illegal border-crossing in Russia

Photo: Jaanus Piirsalu

During an interrogation on Friday, Russian prosecutors filed new chares having to do with the smuggling of a firearm and illegal crossing of the Russian border against the Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS) staffer Eston Kohver being kept in the Lefortovo prison in Moscow.

«The first interrogation of Kohver this year took place in my presence on Friday evening and lasted one and a half hours. In addition to the main charge dealing with espionage the prosecutor's office filed new charges against him -- of the smuggling of a firearm and illegal crossing of the border of the Russian Federation,» Yevgeni Aksyonov, Kohver's Russia-appointed defense lawyer, told BNS on Monday.

«Kohver was shown altogether nine episodes of him crossing the Russian national border at different times, moving from Estonia to Russia and back that is,» Aksyonov said. «There's an uneven number of the episodes because during the last, ninth episode he was detained.»

The lawyer added that another interrogation is due to take place on Wednesday where the Estonian security officer will be presented with the outcomes of expert examinations which could not be completed by Friday. These expert examinations concern video materials found on Kohver that he allegedly shot using special equipment.

The Estonian Internal Security Service said on Sept. 5, 2014 that a member of their staff had been deprived of his freedom on Estonian territory near the checkpoint of Luhamaa on the Estonian-Russian border and taken to Russia 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.

Kohver has been held in the Lefortovo prison of Moscow since.

At the beginning of this month a court of the Lefortovo region extended custody for Kohver until June 5.

Aksyonov has previously told BNS that Kohver will be probably taken to Pskov, capital of the Russian region where the detention took place according to Russia, at the end of April or the beginning of May to stand trial.