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A motion of no confidence in Estonian Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa-Ly Pakosta submitted by opposition MPs failed in the Riigikogu on Thursday.
Altogether 29 MPs voted in favor of the censure motion against Pakosta, with no votes against and no abstentions. A majority of the Riigikogu, or at least 51 votes in favor, would have been required for the motion of no confidence to pass.
The parliamentary groups of the opposition Center Party, the Estonian Conservative People's Party (EKRE), Isamaa and the Social Democratic Party (SDE), a total of 42 MPs, submitted a motion of no confidence in the Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa-Ly Pakosta on Wednesday. The MPs cited the fact that the Office of the Prosecutor General, which is within Pakosta's area of responsibility, has not initiated criminal proceedings against the Pihlakodu care home and, according to the MPs, the minister has issued confusing statements regarding the transfer of 600 Swedish prisoners to Tartu.
Martin Helme, who represented the MPs who submitted the censure motion, said in the Riigikogu on Thursday that Pakosta has damaged the constitutional order of Estonia with her actions and should take responsibility for both the actions and inaction of the prosecutor's office. Helme said in his speech that the Office of the Prosecutor General has not initiated criminal proceedings in the cases of the Pihlakodu care home, Johanna Maria Lehtme, or the procurement of coronavirus tests.
Helme also criticized the minister for her plan to rent places in Tartu Prison to Sweden.
«We plan to bring and we have already agreed in principle that we will bring the worst criminals from Sweden to Estonia: murderers, rapists, terrorists, drug traffickers, pedophiles,» Helme said.
According to him, Pakosta has misled both the public and the parliament -- both about the project's purpose, process and current status.
Pakosta said in her speech at the sitting that she is being accused of things she did not do and that contradict her own values. In response to the accusation in the motion of no confidence, Pakosta said that the transposition of the competition directive has not been delayed because of her.
«The competition law directive, the transposition of which we are talking about, was adopted on Dec. 11, 2018. At the time when this directive should have been transposed into Estonian law, governance responsibility and the position of justice minister were held by those who now submitted the censure motion,» Pakosta said.
The minister indicated that during her term of office, the directive in question was brought to the Riigikogu and it has now passed its second reading.
In response to the claim that she, as minister, has not taken responsibility for the work of the prosecutor's office, Pakosta said that the accusation is more that she has not broken the law. She stressed that justice ministers are prohibited by law from interfering in criminal proceedings. In her speech, Pakosta said that in a free state governed by the rule of law, politicians should not interfere in criminal proceedings either.
«Politicians are not the ones who point fingers and say, 'Start this or stop that,'» Pakosta said.
Commenting on the Pihlakodu care home case, Pakosta said that the moral assessment of rape can only be completely condemnatory.
«And I have used all the tools that are available to me by law. On April 11, I turned to the Bar Association because the state-appointed defense attorney had not filed a claim for damages in the interests of the victims. Why didn't they file one, even though the state has funded their activities? The Bar Association's court of honor must answer this,» Pakosta said.
Regarding the Tartu Prison rental project, the minister replied that she has acted openly and fully involving all parties. Various security issues have been discussed.
«Our country has very good police officers, very good Internal Security Service officials, world-class prison officers, and these people have done everything to mitigate these risks as much as possible, and this is also reflected in a number of points in the draft agreement,» the minister said.
According to Pakosta, only low-risk prisoners will be brought from Sweden to Tartu Prison.
«These are those who are not part of a network, are not radicals, are not involved in terrorism, are not involved in gang crime, are not radicalized, do not have religious extremist views, and so on,» the minister said.
«I am also concerned about ensuring that the people of Estonia can feel completely safe in Estonia and that we continue to openly talk about all the threats, how they can be mitigated, what exactly has been taken into account. Discussing this is actually necessary here in the Riigikogu hall, we have already done it several times and I am of course ready to do it again and again,» Pakosta said before the plenary.