Kohver, convicted in Russia for espionage, may appeal against his verdict till Sept 3
PSKOV. Aug 28 (Interfax) - Appeals following the conviction by the Pskov Regional Court in the case of Eston Kohver, the Estonian security police officer convicted in Russia on charges of espionage, may be submitted until August 31 by the state prosecutor or the defense lawyer and till September 3, by the defendant himself, the court's website says.
According to provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, within five days from the date of verdict, copies of the verdict are to be delivered to the convict, his lawyer and the state prosecutor, the court explains.
On August 20, a copy of the verdict was sent to the defendant who was kept in SIZO-1 remand prison in the Pskov region. Two copies were sent to the state prosecutor and the defense lawyer. On August 21, the verdict copy to be delivered to the convict was received by the administration of the prison. Kohver put his signature on the receipt of the delivery of his copy on August 24, so the date will be considered the date of delivery of the verdict copy to the convict.
Under the Criminal Procedure Code of Russia an appeal or the state prosecutor's plea must be lodged with a court within 10 days from the date that the verdict was given. As for convicts in custody, they must do that within the same period of time but from the date of the delivery of the verdict to them.
Kohver's lawyer Yevgeny Aksyonov told Interfax that for now he has no information on the plans of his client concerning any possible appeal. "Neither [Estonia's] Ambassador, nor the [Estonian] embassy contacted me regarding this matter," the lawyer said.
On September 5, 2014, the Russian Federal Security Service detained Kohver, an officer of the Estonian Interior Ministry's Internal Security Service, in possession of weapons and a large sum of money on the Russia-Estonia border. A court in Moscow ordered his arrest on espionage charges on September 6, 2014. He was also later charged with illegally possessing and smuggling firearms, and illegally crossing the Russian state border. The trial of his case began in Pskov in early June. At the same time, Estonia insists that Kohver was illegally detained on the Estonian side of the border. Russia says the officer crossed the border and was detained on Russian territory.
On August 19, 2015, the Pskov Region Court sentenced Kohver to 15 years in prison on espionage charges.