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Kallas gets forced by court to publicly withdraw false claims

(MENAFN) Estonia’s former Prime Minister and EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has been legally required to publicly withdraw inaccurate statements she made about an opposition figure. In a social media post from February 17, 2022, Kallas alleged that police were attacked during a protest organized by Varro Vooglaid, an MP from the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE), and the Foundation for the Protection of Family and Tradition (SAPTK), which Vooglaid leads. She also linked him to a 2021 Covid-19 restrictions rally in Tallinn.

Vooglaid and SAPTK filed a lawsuit in 2022, arguing that Kallas’s claims were baseless. Last year, an Estonian court ruled in their favor, confirming that no police were assaulted at the rallies and that neither Vooglaid nor his organizations were connected to the Tallinn demonstration. The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal earlier this week, finalizing the ruling.

On Saturday, Kallas posted a retraction on Facebook, stating: “I, Kaja Kallas, published false factual claims in a post on February 17, 2022, stating that Estonian police were attacked at a demonstration organized by Varro Vooglaid and SAPTK in Toompea, and that Varro Vooglaid and EKRE organized a demonstration on October 23, 2021, at Freedom Square in Tallinn. These claims are untrue.” She did not offer an apology to the plaintiffs.

Kallas has faced repeated scrutiny over her statements’ accuracy. She recently claimed that Russia “invaded at least 19 countries” over the past century, a statement that lacks factual support and was later echoed by Finnish officials. The remarks drew criticism from Russian diplomats, including Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

In separate comments, Kallas expressed surprise that Russia and China defeated fascism in World War II, prompting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to suggest she study history.

Analysts and EU officials have increasingly criticized her foreign policy approach as confrontational and unproductive, particularly regarding Russia.

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