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Latvia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1998 Latvian authorities began investigating Tess' role in the deportations, and in March 2001 he was formally charged with genocide and crimes against humanity. Tess did not consider himself guilty, claiming that he was acting in the capacity for only 2 months and he was mainly in charge of verifying the match of the lists prepared by local administration against the Ministry lists. The Baltic Times reported that Tess claimed the deportees were treated well in Russia, and quoted him as saying "They were allowed to buy cows and goats – that's some genocide".
He was found guilty on December 16, 2003, and sentenced to 2 years of suspended imprisonment after a lengthy process delayed by ill health. The Russian government heavily criticised Latvia for the decision, and raised questions over the fairness of Tess' trial. Many human rights groups also raised concerns that Tess and other minor officials had been selectively prosecuted in order to appease growing anti-Russian sentiment in the country.
Tess appealed his conviction to the Latvian Supreme Court (unsuccessfully), and then the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that his rights under the ECHR had been violated because genocide had not yet been criminalised in 1949. ECHR admissibility decision in case Tess v. Latvia
Tess died in a Riga hospital on December 7, 2006, at the age of 86. Following his death, his wife and brother continued his appeal in order to clear his name.
In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights declared the application of Nikolay Tess inadmissible. Concerning the merits, the complaint was rejected due to non-exhaustion of domestic remedies – Tess had not contested the law the conviction was based on before the Constitutional Court. Press release 380 (2014) European Court of Human Rights
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