Estonia rejects ex-agent's plea

Memories of the Soviet period remain raw in Tallinn

Estonia's Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal against the expulsion of an 88-year-old ex-Soviet secret policeman convicted of crimes against humanity.

Vasily Beskov was given an eight-year suspended jail sentence in 1999 for his part in deporting some 20,000 Estonians to Siberia under Stalin in 1949.

Despite living in Estonia for decades, he remains a Russian citizen. He was ordered to leave the country last year.

The court said no exceptions could be made for crimes against humanity.

Mr Beskov was a member of the NKVD, the forerunner of the KGB.

Three other men in their late eighties are also facing possible expulsion.

Uncertainty

But it is not certain that Mr Beskov will be forced to leave the country, the BBC's Laura Sheeter reports from neighbouring Latvia.

The Estonian government, which has the final decision on the matter, says it will take into account their age and long-established family ties to the country when considering whether or not to enforce the ruling.

Estonia-Russia ties have been strained in recent months over plans by the Estonian government to dismantle a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn.

According to Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, preparatory work on removing the monument in the centre of the city has already begun.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that relations between the two countries would be seriously affected if the plan goes ahead.

Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 after what it sees as 50 years of occupation.

Post-Soviet tensions with Russia have emerged over the status of Estonia's large Russian-speaking minority, which Moscow says Estonia discriminates against. Estonia has denied this.