The Public Prosecutor's Office accuses Estonian citizen journalist Svetlana Burceva (57) of violating international sanctions and treason, ERR News reports.

In 1994, Burceva acquired Estonian citizenship through naturalization. Since 2017, she has worked for the Russian media conglomerate Rossiya Segodnya, covering public events in Estonia for various online publications, explained prosecutor Eneli Laurits.

According to the prosecutor, Burceva's work was published in online news and other media texts serving the interests of Russian propaganda. Even after the European Council imposed sanctions against Russia, Burceva continued working in the interests of Dmitry Kiselyov, the owner and true beneficiary of the Kremlin propaganda channel Rossiya Segodnya, noted the prosecutor.

The indictment states that Burceva was aware of the prohibition of her actions and continued her sanctioned activities even after the news portal Sputnik Estonia ceased operations due to sanctions violations in 2019.

From 2020 to 2023, Burceva continued producing media content for the Baltnews.ee portal, using the pseudonym Alan Torm.

According to the collected evidence, the Public Prosecutor's Office believes that Burceva knowingly violated international sanctions.

The pre-trial investigation by the Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS) concluded that Burceva could not be considered an independent, objective and neutral journalist.

According to the ISS, the evidence suggests that Burceva worked as a propagandist for portals serving the Kremlin's aggressive goals, and her investigation revealed activities amounting to both international sanctions violations and treason.

From 2019 to 2021, Burceva completed her master's studies at Sevastopol State University, where she enrolled in a program on information and hybrid conflicts, supervised and directed by a former FSB counterintelligence officer and head of a private intelligence firm registered in Russia. The two-year master's program aims to train international media workers and analysts to be at the forefront of combating hybrid threats Russia faces, noted the prosecutor.

After completing her studies, Burceva co-authored a book with the program director titled "Hybrid War for the World," which describes a global hybrid war that Russia must win. The book was marketed as written in Estonia because it was allegedly published under the name of political scientist L. B. Svet, who was actually Burceva's pseudonym, according to the prosecutor.

The content of the book disparages the Republic of Estonia and is intended to divide Estonian society and discredit the Republic of Estonia and its institutions, added the prosecutor.

The Public Prosecutor's Office believes that the evidence presented in the indictment indicates that Burceva committed treason as an Estonian citizen through non-violent actions against the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Estonia.