The Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE) has announced that it will initiate legal proceedings against certain Estonian media that republished a Politico article about EKRE’s possible connection with Wagner’s group, as well as against the researcher who made comments in the material, writes ERR News.
On the morning of Tuesday, the 21st of February, the party published a statement demanding an apology from Viljar Veebel, the researcher of the Baltic Defense College, and the withdrawal of information, stating that false information was given for the publication in Politico. An apology is also expected from the media that republished the news.
The party has set a deadline by which it wants to receive an apology and to see publications that refute the previously distributed information:
before the parliamentary elections, that is, during this week. If this is not fulfilled, the party promises to initiate legal proceedings against the publisher of the given article and other persons, demanding compensation for the damage caused by the false accusations.
Early voting, including electronic voting, will begin on Monday, the 27th of February.
The Conservative Party denies having any connection with Wagner’s group. The group plays a major role in Russia’s battles in eastern Ukraine and is also active elsewhere, such as in Mali. EKRE also stated that it has no ties to the Kremlin’s disinformation organizations:
«Claims to the contrary constitute deliberately spread disinformation, whose aim is to influence the outcome of the Riigikogu elections.»
Politico wrote that documents originating from the network of the owner of the Wagner group, as well as information from sources in the US, show that organizations led by Yevgeny Prigozhin have tried to intentionally interfere in democratic processes in Estonia in 2019 and even tried to influence the European Parliament elections.
Veebel, who lectures at the Baltic Defense College in Tartu, has found himself in a difficult situation, as he stated to Politico that EKRE wanted to launch a tough fight against the liberal parties and was happy for professional help.
Internal Security Service (ISS) chief Harrys Puusepps, said on the Ringvaada television program that his service has no information that would indicate any real contact between EKRE and Prigozhin himself. However, Puusepps pointed out that the materials analyzed by Politico, which the ISS had access to even before publication, undoubtedly show the Kremlin’s efforts to influence the election.