Allan Hantsom organised the vandalising of the Ministry of the Interior's car at the request of GRU

Allan Hantsom organised the vandalising of the Ministry of the Interior's car at the request of GRU. Photo: Erik Prozes

This spring, the Harju District Court convicted Allan Hantsom of organising an attack that damaged the car of the Minister of the Interior and a journalist last December at the request and under the instruction of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU).

Under the direction of the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Estonian Internal Security Service identified 11 people connected to the vandalising of the Minister of the Interior«s and a journalist's car and the desecration of memorials within the framework of a criminal case initiated last year.

Based on the charges, at least 9 people were connected to the vandalising of the Minister of the Interior's and a journalist's car, and 7 of them were convicted by the court. Two of these people are in Russia and have been declared international fugitives from justice.

It was proven in court that Allan Hantsom established a relationship with people acting in the interests and at the request of GRU, and planned and prepared the attacks against property in Estonia as of October 2023. In order to organise the vandalising of the Minister of the Interior's and a journalist's car, Allan Hantsom contacted Andrei Kolomainen. Kolomainen involved an individual who found the next person in the chain of organising the attacks, and they, in turn, involved two additional people who found the perpetrator of the attack.

The court convicted Hantsom, Kolomainen and Roman Lantsov of intelligence activities against the Republic of Estonia and supporting these activities. Four people were convicted of criminal offences against property by the court.

State Prosecutor Triinu Olev-Aasa says that the chain of people organising and committing the attacks was long, and not all of the participants knew the actual purpose of the criminal offence.

«The persons who knew the purpose of the criminal offence and the identity of the individual who actually ordered it were charged with offences against the state by the Prosecutor's Office. The other people involved in the attack received the registration numbers, makes and addresses of the cars and they were promised money in return for damaging the cars. They did not know who owned the cars based on evidence,» said Olev-Aas. The payment for the criminal offences did not arrive in Estonia from Russia.

Evidence collected in the criminal proceedings underway shows that Hantsom planned and prepared the attacks with Ilja Botšarov and Alik Hutšbarov, who acted under the direction, in the interests and at the request of GRU. Hutšbarov was also convicted of a criminal offence against the Republic of Estonia in 2016. As Botšarov and Hutšbarov are in Russia, they have been declared international fugitives from justice. Collected evidence shows that Hutšbarov also planned and prepared attacks on memorials in the Republic of Estonia and other property.

«If either of the suspects should travel to a country that shares the same values as Estonia, they have the right to detain these persons and extradite them to Estonia so that the suspects could be brought to justice,» said State Prosecutor Olev-Aas.

The persons who damaged the monuments at the Sinimäed Hills memorial last year in May and the memorials of the World War II battle of Sinimäed as well the memorial plaque of Alfons Rebane in Mustla this year in January were also identified during the proceedings. Paint was poured over the memorials at Sinimäed Hills and Viljandi, a black swastika was drawn on the memorials, then crossed out with red paint and doused in red paint. The court convicted one person of non-violent activities directed against the Republic of Estonia and another of the debasement of the memory of a deceased person.

Margo Palloson, Director General of the Estonian Internal Security Service, says that the World War II battles of Sinimäed are a painful memory for the Russian Federation, which is why the memorials are among the state»s objects of retaliation. The Russian Federation exploits people who have problems and later discards them. The perpetrators do not receive payment for the criminal offences ordered, while the money is mostly pocketed by the corrupt middlemen.

«The Internal Security Service prevents and hinders non-military attacks on a daily basis to stop subsequent military threats from emerging. Criminals are apprehended and held liable,» added Palloson.