Estonian journalist of Russian origin, Svetlana Burtseva, is facing criminal charges for violating international sanctions against Moscow and treason, the Baltic state’s prosecutor’s office announced Wednesday.

Burtseva “is accused of violating international sanctions and treason,” prosecutor general Eneli Lauric said in a press release sent to AFP by his services.

The prosecution was strongly criticized by Russian diplomacy.

“The very serious charges brought against Ms. Burcheva have only one purpose: to severely punish her for her professional activities,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, calling the charges “completely fabricated.”

Svetlana Burtseva, who acquired Estonian citizenship in 1994, has been working since 2017 with Estonian news websites controlled by the Russian media group Rossiya Segodnya.

Her work “serves the interests of Russian propaganda,” according to the prosecution.

The Estonian Internal Security Service (SSI), for its part, said that Ms. Burtseva “cannot be considered an independent, objective and neutral journalist” since she serves, according to it, “the aggressive goals of the Kremlin”, which is a “crime against the state”.

According to Estonian authorities, Ms. Burtseva attended a training program in Sevastopol, Crimea, on information and hybrid warfare, developed and directed by the head of a Russian-registered private intelligence company, a former Russian counterintelligence officer. He also wrote a book entitled “Hybrid War Against the World”, which has content “offensive against the Republic of Estonia”.

“As an Estonian citizen, S. Burtseva committed treason through non-violent actions against the independence and national sovereignty of the Republic of Estonia,” according to the prosecution.