Estonian Supreme Court partially rehabilitates man who tried to flee USSR by boat
Estonia's Supreme Court on Friday partially rehabilitated Imre Arakas, convicted in 1979 for trying to flee the Soviet Union and for stealing weapons. It rejected a rehabilitation request from another man.
The Estonian Supreme Court on Friday partially rehabilitated Imre Arakas, who was convicted by the Supreme Court of the Estonian SSR in 1979 for attempting to leave the Soviet Union by boat and for stealing weapons, boats and boat engines. In Estonia, people convicted during the Soviet occupation can be rehabilitated if their acts were committed in the struggle for independence. The court rejected a request from a second man.
The 1979 verdict
In October 1979, Arakas was found guilty of several anti-state offenses, thefts, illegal weapons possession and armed attacks. He received 15 years in prison with confiscation of property: three years in prison, then 12 years in a high-security correctional labor camp.
He was also accused of trying to leave the USSR without permission. The attempt failed when the boat's engine broke down and wind and waves carried it back to shore. With accomplices, he broke into a boathouse at a Tallinn lifeguard station in 1977 and stole an inflatable motorboat. The group also stole boat engines, tape recorders, cars and weapons. In 1978, Arakas threatened a guard with a pistol in the Estonian Television building, demanding the guard's weapon.
The court's decision
Attorney Sven Sillar filed the request in April, citing a December 2024 ruling that partially rehabilitated Heiki Terras, who took part in the same armed robbery. Arakas submitted a written statement saying he had acted with Terras to resist the Soviet regime.
The court overturned the convictions for stealing boats and engines in preparation for escaping abroad, obtaining and stealing weapons, and taking equipment from a militia vehicle. It found that the materials credibly showed his goal was armed resistance. The conviction for stealing two umbrellas from a car stayed in force, as there was no evidence it was linked to the freedom struggle. The state awarded Arakas €700 for legal costs.
Second request rejected
The Criminal Chamber rejected the request of another man, sentenced in 1979 to 12 years, reduced in 1988 to nine years and three months. Postimees identified him as Aivar Kalvik. The court said each person's motives must be assessed separately and found his involvement in the robbery of the Dünamo shooting range was coincidental. His conviction remains in force.
Arakas was later convicted in Ireland and Lithuania for unrelated crimes.
