Chiesa spent several hours behind bars after being taken into custody from his hotel in the center of the Estonian capital. Later on, the country’s Interior Ministry made a decision to refuse Chiesa entry to Estonia for one month.
The 74-year-old politician arrived in Estonia to give a speech entitled, “Should Europe be afraid of Russia?” to the members of a local media club called ‘Imprint.’ But before the conference took place, Estonian Security Forces associated “Imprint” with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service and arrested Chiesa.
In an interview with Sputnik Italy, Giulietto Chiesa said, “The Tallinn court, of course, believes that such a procedure is correct and lawful. However, I was embarrassed in front of my fellow citizens Estonian-Europeans. I will give only a few points, but they are sufficient to show the absurdity of the Estonian action. For a month, for some unknown reason, I was a threat to Estonia, as it was suggested that I was allegedly proposing ‘by any means to restore the Soviet Union.’ Such a plan cannot be realized in one month. Then why deny me entry into the country only for a month and not make the ban permanent?”
“In fact, it is clear that the purpose of these allegations was to prevent me from holding a conference that I had planned. They prevented me from expressing my political views. This in fact violates the rules of the European Union.”
“In January while leaving Estonia I said that if the Administrative Court invalidated my actions, I will withdraw my lawsuit. Now I want to say that I am suing the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs and accusing them of libel and defamation.”
Chiesa also stated that he wants to go to the European Court of Human Rights as the situation is not just about him but about global political principles in general. He stressed that now Estonia will have to prove that it is a part of the anti-Nazi Europe that it claims to be.
