You should be able to meet with your criminal defence counsel or representative who is an advocate without restrictions and without supervision or monitoring.
According to Estonian law, meetings with your criminal defence counsel or representative who is an advocate should be confidential – they must not be monitored or listened to by the prison administration. Visits shall be within sight but not within hearing distance from prison service officers. You have unrestricted right to receive visits from your criminal defence counsel or representative who is an advocate, these visits shall be uninterrupted.
In case you are held in custody you also have the unrestricted right to receive visits from your criminal defence counsel or representative who is an advocate. These visits shall be uninterrupted. Visits shall be within sight but not within hearing distance from prison service officers. A criminal defence counsel or a representative who is an advocate have the right to hand over material necessary for the preparation of defence. Prison service officers shall not review the content of such material nor the content of documents of a notary.
Monitoring
Human rights allow for the monitoring of representative’s visits only in exceptional circumstances and only to the degree necessary to verify whether there are any real threats to security. They may only be monitored if the prison staff have a real and very well-grounded reason to believe that illegal activities, such as the delivery of prohibited objects, are taking place during the meeting. An individual written decision must be issued in such a case.
Reasoned monitoring
Estonian law doesn´t allow for video monitoring of your meetings. In order to justify monitoring the prison administration must have real and well-grounded reason to believe that some illegal activities might take place during the meeting. An individual decision must be issued in such a case. If your meeting is monitored without adequate reason, your rights may have been violated.
What human rights violation may there be?
Unjustified restrictions, monitoring or listening to your meetings with your lawyer may violate your right to respect for your private life and correspondence.
example If a letter from your lawyer consulting you on a family-related dispute contains private information, the reading of such letter may violate your right to a private life.
As restricting, monitoring or listening to the meetings with your representative may also affect your criminal case, your right to a fair trial may also be violated. Therefore, if your conversations or meetings with your criminal defence counsel or representative who is an advocate have been restricted, monitored or listened to, you should include this fact in your submissions to the court.
If you believe that your rights have been violated, you should first complain to the prison administration to prevent future violations. Read more about how to complain.