Estonia has imposed sanctions on a prosecutor and a judge from Russia.
On October 15, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna signed a decision to impose national sanctions on two individuals “involved in politically motivated judicial persecution, violations of international law, undermining Estonia’s sovereignty, and suppressing democratic values and human rights.”
Russian Prosecutor Lyudmila Balandina and Judge Dmitry Gordeev were both included on the list of sanctions imposed by Estonia.
Margus Tsahkna said that Balandina was directly responsible for prosecuting Maria Smorževskihh-Smirnova, Director of the Narva Museum, who was sentenced in absentia by the Moscow City Court to 10 years in prison in September 2022 for “rehabilitating Nazism.”
The court stated that the director of the Narva Museum organized and assisted in placing posters with the image of the President of the Russian Federation and inscriptions containing false information about the commission of war crimes by him on one of the walls of Narva Castle.
“We will not stop at national sanctions. Those who support and implement the brutal and authoritarian policies of the Russian regime have no place in Europe, and we will do everything in our power to deny them the privileges that freedom offers,” said Tsakhna.
Estonia’s sanctions against Balandina and Gordeev have now entered into force, including a ban on entering Estonia.
