“In the last days of last year we repeatedly discussed the current situation and came to the conclusion that, despite, to put it mildly, the absurd demands of the authorities and the threat that we really don’t want to believe in, we have no right to risk the fate of our people,” appeal of the chief editor of Sputnik Estonia Elena Cherysheva.
She said that in connection with this, “from January 1, editorial staff were forced to terminate their employment relations with Sputnik Estonia and MIA Russia Today.
She emphasized that “the site will continue to work in its entirety,” but “it will take some time to organize it in such a way as not to live under constant pressure from the Estonian authorities”.
Earlier it was reported that employees of Sputnik Estonia were forced to terminate their employment relations with the editorial office from January 1, 2020 due to the threat of criminal prosecution.
On December 18, news agency employees received letters from the Estonian law enforcement agencies with threats of criminal prosecution if they did not end their employment relations with MIA Russia Today by January 1, 2020. Departments justify their actions with the sanctions that the EU introduced in 2014 against a number of individuals and legal entities due to events in Ukraine.
On December 30, Sputnik Estonia employees received an official notification from Swedbank about the termination of service contracts and the closure of their bank accounts in the country.