Minister: spy scandal did not make Estonia a pariah for NATO
06.10.2008, 10:02
Estonian Minister of Defence Jaak Aaviksoo
denies claims that NATO partners are regarding Estonia as a pariah for the
recent spy scandal.
Eesti Päevaleht writes that last week also Marko Mihkelson, MP for IRL, said
that the case of suspected Russian spy Herman Simm has not damaged Estonia’s
reputation in any way.
Mihkelson who heads the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission said that he
cannot agree with claims that Herman Simm’s case had damaged Estonia’s
reputation, rather the opposite. “Eliminating defense risk so professionally
definitely rather raises Estonia’s reputation,” the MP said.
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Last week the public prosecutor seized all assets of Herman Simm and his wife
who are suspected of having spied for Russians.
Simm is believed to have fed NATO secrets to Russians for years as head of
security department of Estonian Ministry of Defence.
Simm led the security department until November 2006. The department's tasks
were organizing and coordinating the state secrets' protection in the
Ministry.
As an authorized representative of state security, Simm represented Estonia
in EU and NATO and has participated in elaborating of information defense system
in both organizations.
He has led government delegations, which have made agreements of protection
of classified information with nearly twenty countries.
Simm began his career in the Ministry of Defense in 1995, when he started
working as a bureau manager in defense politics information analysis department.
State protection defense department was created in 2000 and Simm was appointed
to lead it.
By law, Simm could be sentenced into prison from 3 to 15 years.
Simm and his wife were arrested under suspicion of treason.