2024-01-16 11:32:00
Tartu University professor Vyacheslav Morozov was detained in Estonia on suspicion of “conducting intelligence activities against the Republic of Estonia,” the ERR broadcasting company reports, citing the prosecutor’s office.
The department clarified that Morozov was detained on January 3. The prosecutor’s office did not answer what exactly the professors are suspected of, explaining this in the interests of the investigation.
Prosecutor Triinu Olev said that Morozov, while free, could evade criminal prosecution or continue to commit crimes, so the prosecutor’s office petitioned for his arrest.
Now Morozov is in a Tallinn prison, the court arrested him for two months. The university told ERR that it terminated its employment relationship with the professor shortly after his arrest.
The head of the Estonian Security Police, Margot Palloson, said that Morozov is suspected of having connections with Russian intelligence services. “The current case is an addition to more than several dozen previous ones and illustrates the desire of Russian intelligence services to penetrate various spheres of life in Estonia, including the scientific sphere,” Pallson said. He also added that “the intelligence interest of the aggressor state in Estonia remains high.”
Vyacheslav Morozov is a Russian citizen. He worked at St. Petersburg State University from 1997 to 2010, after which he joined the University of Tartu.
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