A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced an Estonian policeman to 15 years' jail on espionage charges in a case that has fuelled tensions between Moscow and its NATO-member neighbour.

A court in the Pskov region, on the Russian-Estonian border, sentenced officer Eston Kohver on charges of spying, weapon possession and illegally crossing the border, his court-appointed lawyer, Yevgeny Aksyonov, told AFP.