TALLINN — Estonia’s biggest prostitution mafia court case which has 16 accused and 50 witnesses, was postponed until fall due the illness of a judge.

All of those accused were allegedly working for or connected to Tallinn’s Lily strip club which was illegally providing sexual services. Lily strip club and another brothel on Tihase street were owned by Elvo Timm, who escaped from Estonia in 2007 to avoid from being convicted by court of operating a bordello.

While police arrested 16 people for pimping, Timm managed to escape. Timm is now held at Sevastopol investigation center and will be handed over to the Estonian authorities in the near future. Timm has not yet brought back to Estonia

Kristina Ots, press spokeswoman of Harju County Court told Postimees that judge Leo Kunman is ill, therefore the court hearing was postponed to September 27.

While the act of prostitution is not illegal in Estonia, operating an brothel is.