Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise, who presented the application of the Prosecutor General, explained that, according to suspicion, the applications for housing rental compensation Kalle Laanet had submitted as a member of the Riigikogu and as Minister of Justice in 2022 and 2023 had been based on a lease contract concluded with a related party.
“The lease contract was concluded with a private limited company owned by the son from a previous relationship of the spouse of the member of the Riigikogu. There is no question that the member of the Riigikogu was entitled to a compensation for housing expenses. His place of residence is in Saaremaa. So he is entitled to it. However, he should have submitted a lease contract concluded with an unrelated party,” said Madise.
The Chancellor of Justice noted that, when she had examined the materials of the criminal case, no circumstance had become apparent that could have refrained her from forwarding the application of the Prosecutor General to the Riigikogu.
“As always, I underline that only a court can determine guilt. Neither the submission of this application and proposal nor the potential removal of parliamentary immunity implies that Kalle Laanet has committed a crime. Justice is administered solely by the courts, and if guilt is not proven the person is acquitted,” Madise emphasised.
In his speech, member of the Riigikogu Kalle Laanet said that he disagreed with the accusation, as he had no biological or legal connection to his spouse’s son from а previous relationship.
“I do not oppose the lifting of my parliamentary immunity, that is, I fully support the Chancellor of Justice’s proposal, but I would like to use this opportunity to draw attention to the confusion in the law. During my nearly 40-year career, I have many times been, so to speak, on the other side of the table. Now I participate in criminal proceedings in a completely different role. As always in life, many things become clearer when you experience them yourself. Therefore, I take this opportunity to highlight today’s legal policy trends and their flaws,” said Laanet.
54 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the proposal of the Chancellor of Justice.
The second item on the agenda of the plenary sitting was the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Amendment of the Resolution of the Riigikogu „Formation of the Estonian Delegation to the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Lithuania“ ” (646 OE), submitted by the Foreign Affairs Committee. The draft Resolution provided for the appointment of Irja Lutsar as the Committee’s representative in the Baltic Assembly delegation in connection with the termination of the mandate of Hele Everaus as a member of the Riigikogu.
The proposal of the Foreign Affairs Committee as the lead committee was to hold a final vote on the draft Resolution. 50 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour, and the Resolution was adopted.
After the sitting, a meeting convened by Züleyxa Izmailova will be held to form the Individuals with ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder Support Group.
Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)
The video recording of the sitting will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.