A young man spent 15 days in prison in Tallinn because a court did not consider an English-language document regarding his driving license, which was later acknowledged as an unjust sentence.
A 27-year-old man, Georg, was sentenced to 15 days in prison after being found guilty of driving a Mercedes-Benz without a driver's license in Tallinn. The incident occurred in August of the previous year when Georg was apprehended for driving in a prohibited manner by overtaking vehicles unlawfully on the roadside. The regional court later recognized that the initial incarceration was entirely unfounded due to the lack of consideration for an English-language document that verified his driving credentials.
The Harju district court passed the sentence based on the assumption that Georg's lack of a valid driver's license warranted immediate imprisonment. However, this decision overlooked an important piece of evidence – an English-language slip confirming that he held a valid license, which was not admitted in court. The oversight highlights significant issues within the judicial process, particularly concerning the treatment of foreign language documents in legal proceedings.
After spending 15 days behind bars, Georg's release was authorized by the circuit court, which admitted that the imprisonment was based on insufficient evidence. This case raises larger questions about judicial practices in Estonia and the need for better handling of cases involving non-Estonian speakers or documents, emphasizing the necessity for clarity and fairness in legal proceedings to prevent similar injustices in the future.
