Estonian Prosecutors Oppose Early Release of Saaremaa Arsonist
The Harju County Court heard a request to release Gevin Kütt early from prison; he was convicted in 2016 of setting fire to an apartment building stairwell on Saaremaa, killing two people. The prison backed the request, prosecutors opposed it, and the court will rule on 28 October.
The Harju County Court in Estonia has heard a petition for the conditional early release of Gevin Kütt, who was convicted in 2016 of setting fire to the stairwell of an apartment building in the village of Aste on the island of Saaremaa, causing the deaths of two people. The prison supported the request, while the prosecutor's office opposed it. The court's press service told Rus.ERR that a ruling will be issued on 28 October.
Estonia's courts have refused Kütt early release on several previous occasions.
Sentence and prior record
The verdict against Kütt, now 33, took legal effect in October 2016. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, and once a previously unserved portion of an earlier sentence was added, his total term came to 12 years, 3 months and 24 days.
When he committed the offences, Kütt was out on conditional early release. He was banned from using alcohol and drugs and from contact with people punished under criminal law. In total, he had been punished three times under criminal law and four times administratively.
The night of the fire
According to the charges, on the night of 3 July 2015, while spending time with others in an apartment building in Aste, Kütt struck a young man, set a nearby bicycle on fire and tried to ignite a scooter. When a 36-year-old man intervened, Kütt hit him as well.
Prosecutors allege that he later threatened a local girl with violence and then set the building alight by throwing a burning crisp packet under the staircase. Strollers, bicycles, cardboard boxes and other flammable items were stored there.
Two residents, aged 63 and 55, died in the fire. Both were asleep and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Two other elderly people were injured. In all, 19 people were in the building, including children and pensioners with disabilities.
Earlier offences
In 2012, Kütt received a suspended sentence for stealing alcohol and cigarettes from shops, illegal possession of a weapon and fuel theft. In 2013 he was given an actual prison term for stealing construction tools and beating a man. According to the charges, in February 2013 outside a bar in Kuressaare he hit a man on the head with a bottle and kept kicking him after he fell.
