Arnold Meri

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Arnold Meri (b. 1919) is an Estonian veteran of World War II, a Hero of the Soviet Union^[1] and has been charged with crimes against humanity.^[2] He is the cousin of former President of Estonia, Lennart Meri. Currently he is the chairman of the Estonian Anti-Fascist Committee.^[3]

Meri voluntarily joined the Red Army in 1940. He was wounded in battle while serving as a platoon commander in north-west Russia in 1941. In August 1941 he was awarded a Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union for organizing the defense of the headquarters of the Estonian Territorial Corps when the German army broke through the lines near Dno in July of 1941. In reality the defense was commanded by captain Georg Loog,^[4] but he was not deemed to be suitable for the decoration, as he was not a member of the Communist Party and had been an officer of the Estonian Army.^[5] Meri was specifically commended for remaining on the battlefield despite being wounded four times.^{[citation needed]} Meri retired from the Red Army as a colonel. The building that housed the headquarters of the 22nd Estonian Rifle Corps in July of 1941 is currently occupied by a secondary school. In 2008 the school was renamed in honour of Arnold Meri.^{[citation needed]}

From 1945 to 1949 he served as the secretary of the central committee of Komsomol in Estonia. In 1948 he was awarded the highest Soviet order, the Order of Lenin.

Meri's opinion on the Estonian part in World War II:

“

Estonia's participation in World War II was inevitable and only a fool could have believed otherwise. ... Every Estonian had only one decision to make: whose side to take in that bloody fight—the Nazis' or the anti-Hitler coalition's.[6]

”

[edit] Charge of Genocide

In 2003, the Estonia Security Police investigated Meri for participating in the deportations of Estonians in Hiiumaa in 1949.^[5][7] In August 2007, Estonian Western Circuit Prosecutor’s Office formally charged Arnold Meri with genocide, for allegedly organising the deportation of 251 Estonian civilians from the island of Hiiumaa to the Novosibirsk region of Siberia.^[8] According to the Prosecutor’s Office, most of the deportees were women and children, and 43 subsequently died.^[8] Meri has acknowledged taking part in the deportations, but denies responsibility.^[2]

On 20 May 2008 the trial aginast Meri began. Meri plead not guilty.^[9] In his defense, Mr. Meri maintains that he was appointed to monitor the compliance of the process with then-current laws and to ensure that the punitive actions were limited to the individuals specifically listed by security services. Mr. Meri claims that he was unable to control the abuses of the local authorities and withdrew from the process. For this decision he himself was prosecuted, stripped of his military honors and expelled from the Communist Party in 1949. Mr. Meri maintains that he is targeted by the current Estonian authorities in retaliation for his anti-fascist activities and harsh critique of the Estonian government.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References