Russian authorities have added new charges of arms smuggling and unlawful crossing of the Russian border to the case of an Estonian police officer, Eston Kohver, who was kidnapped near the Russian border in southern Estonia last year. Kohver was earlier accused of espionage by authorities in Moscow.
Kohver was kidnapped after a skirmish on the Estonian side of the border on 5 September 2014 and was immediately transported and incarcerated in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison. According to Estonian authorities, smoke grenades were used during the abduction as was sophisticated communications jamming equiment.
Kommersant reports that Kohver was interrogated on April 17. His lawyer, Yevgeny Aksyonov, says that Kohver was apparently shown a videotape made in the region where he was abducted. According to the lawyer, the videotape included interviews of members of a Russian border guard unit and Russian counter-intelligence. Kover was also shown video of someone -who Russian authorities ostensibly claim is Kohver- is seen crossing the Russian border at various times.
Facts, facts…
Eston Kohver was not a border guard, but an intelligence officer (a spy), and was arrested during an intelligence operation against Russia.
According to the Russian side, he was not kidnapped, but arrested in Russian territory after illegal border crossing when his attempt was to pay bribe to Russian border guard for some intelligence information. Besides illegal border crossing and spying Kohver carried over the border a firearm and 5000 € undeclared cash.
Estonian version of “kidnapping” does not have any documentary proof. The Intelligence Office did not publish any vital details of the operation (why Kohver was in the border zone and what exact orders he followed – which side was agreed for meeting with the Russian agent and delivering the cach?).
Ok… Lots of words but no links? Can you back up anything you’ve said?
What exactly you need to be backed up?
Can’t you use Google?
At least this article has been slightly corrected now and does not lie directly that Kohver was a border guard anymore. But Kohver is not ordinary police officer also. He is a member of the Internal Security Service https://www.kapo.ee/eng.1.html and was just sneaking into Russia to pay to his Russian informator (who was Russian border guard officer), for some intelligence information, when he was arrested.
Kohver is a police officer and police officers generally carry sidearms. He was kidnapped after being physically abducted from Estonia.