The Estonian Internal Security Service (KAPO) detained Oleg Bessedin on the 4th of November on suspicion of violating European Union sanctions against Russia and crimes against the state, ERR News reports.
Bessedin ran a pro-Kremlin Facebook page that regularly spread Russian-made disinformation. The man has been under the attention of KAPO for a long time, and according to the Prosecutor General’s Office, he was involved in disseminating disinformation long before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, together with individuals cooperating with Russian intelligence services.
It is believed that Bessedin’s page Tallinnlased in Russian has also repeatedly republished information from sanctioned Russian media. This means that EU sanctions have been violated and non-violent actions have been taken against the Estonian state. State Prosecutor Taavi Pern pointed out that any non-violent activity that harms the independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity of Estonia is punishable as a crime against the state, and this also includes active and purposeful participation in Russian influence activities. “According to the suspicion, Oleg Bessedin’s actions have gone beyond the boundaries of constitutionally protected discourse, and have turned into targeted activity in the interests of a state hostile to Estonia,” the prosecutor added.
Deputy Director of the KAPO Taavi Narits noted that
the service has previously included a description of Besedin’s activities in its annual reports,
and now there is reason to believe that the detainee has committed crimes against the state. The Kremlin’s information activities, in which Bessedin has been involved, were carried out to give Russia the opportunity to interfere in Estonian domestic politics.
Bessedin’s activities have appeared in KAPO reports since 2011. At the time, the report said that Russia was using local extremists to spread propaganda. Bessedin mainly helped Russian television channels ORT, RTR, Zvezda, REN TV and others create propaganda materials related to Estonia.
According to KAPO, Bessedin produces the TV channel TVN through a company owned by his parents. He has close ties to Russian journalists who create false stories about Estonia, and the man has helped the Russians in various ways, from logistical issues to actual camera work.
Just a month ago, Ivan Dmitriev, a member of the voluntary Estonian Defense League, was detained and charged with conducting and supporting intelligence activities against the Republic of Estonia.
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