The Tartu County Court in Estonia on Thursday ruled in favor of an early release for Herman Simm, a former high-ranking national security official who was convicted of treason and spying for Russia in 2009, the court's press service said
TALLINN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th December, 2019) The Tartu County Court in Estonia on Thursday ruled in favor of an early release for Herman Simm, a former high-ranking national security official who was convicted of treason and spying for Russia in 2009, the court's press service said.
"After hearing the convict, the opinion of the prosecutor and reading the materials provided by the [Tartu] prison, the Tartu County Court ruled that the early release of Herman Simm was justified. The possibility that Simm will commit a new crime is low. The potential risk of a relapse is also reducing due to his age and health condition," the statement said.
The court ruled a probation period until March 21, 2021, for Simm, who spent 11 years and two months in prison.
In February 2009, the Harju County Court sentenced Simm to 12 years and six months of imprisonment for treason and passing state secrets on to Russia for more than ten years. According to the investigation, he provided Russia with over 3,000 highly-sensitive and confidential documents, including those related to the EU and NATO, as well as to the Estonian government.
Simm was the head of the Estonian Defense Ministry's Security Department from 2000 to 2006. The department is responsible for protecting state secrets and all secret documents, as well as deals with security issues of the ministry and monitors the intelligence activities of the defense forces' general staff. Simm also represented Estonia during talks with the respective institutions of the EU and NATO.
