Bessedin reaches plea deal over state crimes, faces seven years

Oleg Bessedin has agreed to a plea deal in a case involving crimes against the state and breaches of international sanctions, ERR reported. The Harju County Court began hearing the case on Tuesday, and the agreement calls for a seven-year prison sentence and the confiscation of more than 73,000 euros in criminal proceeds.

Bessedin was arrested in November last year and has been held in custody since then.

Chief State Prosecutor Taavi Pern told ERR’s Russian-language portal that prosecutors agreed to settle the case through plea proceedings after negotiations with Bessedin and his lawyer. The condition was an actual seven-year prison sentence and the confiscation of assets earned through criminal activity.

According to Pern, evidence shows that Bessedin worked with Russian state institutions and their representatives in sustained influence activities directed against Estonia. The aim was allegedly to spread propaganda and disinformation, divide Estonia’s population and persuade people to support Russia’s political choices.

The prosecution also alleges that Bessedin spread narratives Russia has used to justify attacks on neighbouring countries and amplified them to give participants in Russia’s political decision-making the impression that they reflected the views of Estonia’s Russian-speaking population.

“According to the evidence, Oleg Bessedin directly harmed Estonia’s security and earned criminal proceeds by doing so,” Pern said. He added that the alleged crimes against the state required a strict and effective punishment.

Bessedin’s lawyer, Dmitri Školjar, said the parties had reached an agreement during Tuesday’s hearing after discussing disputed issues throughout the day. The court received the materials only on Tuesday and must review them before ruling on the agreement on September 28.

Under the agreement, Bessedin would receive two years and nine months for breaching sanctions and six and a half years for activities against the state. The sentences would be combined, with the longer sentence partly covering the shorter one, resulting in a total sentence of seven years.

Time already spent in custody since November last year would count toward the sentence. Bessedin could apply for conditional release after two and a half years.

The court also granted the defence’s request to lift additional restrictions. Bessedin had been held in solitary confinement, and his lawyer said he should now be allowed to interact with other prisoners and communicate with his family.

According to the indictment, Bessedin had been actively involved in influence activities conducted for Russia and in its interests since at least May 2022. He allegedly maintained contact with Russian institutions, officials and other people involved in such activities.

The prosecution alleges that through this activity he committed non-violent acts directed against Estonia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. He is also accused of distributing Russian television programmes and content subject to sanctions through television and social media channels under his control, and of making sanctioned content available to other channels.