About ELA

Estonia Litigation Association (ELA) is a non-profit organization of relatives and victims of the Estonia catastrophe along with the supporting members who have joined the forces with those who fight for the truth behind the sinking of Estonia.

The mysterious sinking of the Baltic ferry Estonia on 28 September 1994 took 852 innocent lives. There were 146 survivors on the original rescue lists from which nine names were later deleted.  These nine individuals, all Estonian members of the crew, were apparently abducted through an act of "enforced disappearance."

ELA consists mainly of members of a lawsuit, known as the "Paris process" being heard in the Court of Nanterre, France. The Paris process involves more than 1200 plaintiffs from 14 countries. These litigation members are legally represented by Erik Schmill from Schmill & Lombrez, a law firm in Paris. The judge who deals with the proceedings is Mme GODARD.

ELA is dedicated to advancing the litigation process, which has been in a legal quagmire since it began in September 1996. 11 years later, the essence of the case has yet to be heard in the court.

ELA hopes that litigation will bring to light discoveries that will reveal the true cause of the sinking.

To protect the interests of the relatives and survivors and expose the lies of the official cover-up behind the sinking, ELA was established on 10 June 2002 in Gränna, Sweden.

When the organization was founded, Helje Kaskel was elected chair person.  She was re-elected in June, 2004.

In August 2006, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg registered the Estonia case in which relatives of the deceased are suing the governments of Sweden and France for violating their human rights by denying them the fair and open trial they deserve.

The relatives accuse the two countries, the judges, the defendants, and the insurance companies with having conspired to block the legal process, which they expect would result in discovery and determine accountability for the catastrophe.

We are a non-profit organization completely supported by you, the members. Donations can be made directly through SEB Eesti Ühispank.  The bank account details are:

The name of the bank: SEB Eesti Ühispank

• Bank's Address: Tornimäe 2, 15010 Tallinn, Estonia
• BIC or SWIFT code: EEUHEE2X
• Account No: 10 0103 2971 2017
• IBAN: EE05 1010 0103 2971 2017
• Name on Account: Helje Kaskel
• Message: "Support ELA"
• See Correspondent banks abroad
  http://www.seb.ee/index/01013603041601

Thanks for your kind contribution!

See the list of recommended articles:
http://www.elaestonia.org/eng/index.php?kat=148