American Human Rights Advocate and Lawyer Detained in Minsk
This reached me through reliable contacts, if anyone wants contact info please write me. Persephone
As confirmed on March 15 by the US Embassy in Minsk, Belarus, Emanuel Zeltser, a prominent New York lawyer and human rights activist, was arrested in Minsk, Belarus, on March 12th, while representing interests of his international client. The fact of Mr. Zeltser’s detention was confirmed March 15 by the local authorities at the request of the US Embassy in Minsk, however, Mr. Zeltser’s precise whereabouts are being presently concealed and he does not appear to have access to legal representation or medical assistance. Mr. Zeltser suffers from a number of serious medical conditions and may not survive the detention without immediate medical attention. No formal charges against him have been filed yet and all information is very sketchy at best. The arrest and the whole saga appear to have been orchestrated by Mr. Zeltser’s opponents who used the dictatorial political climate in Belarus and strong anti-American and anti-Jewish sentiment in that country as well as massive corruption in the local police to organize Mr. Zeltser’s arrest and his virtual disappearance. His friends and colleagues have been in constant touch with the US Embassy in Minsk but were told that the US officials are also being kept in the dark as to Mr. Zeltser’s whereabouts and charges filed against him.
Mr. Zeltser is well-known in the US and abroad for being a long time fighter against money laundering and organized crime in Russia and former Soviet republics. He is Director of American Russian Law Institute known for its vociferous stance against international money laundering. In 1999, at the invitation of the US Congress, Mr. Zeltser testified before the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services at the Hearing on Russian organized crime and money laundering. Mr. Zeltser regularly appears as legal expert in the media including Fox News Channel, CNN, ABC-TV (Australia ), The Voice of America, Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, CBC (Canada) and others, addressing many legal and political issues, including international terrorism, money laundering, and organized crime.
Russian language version on Belarus Partisan.
Boris Keyser
March 17, 2008 @ 6:04 pm
Please keep me updated on this story. Is there any way to help Mr. Zeltser? Does anyone know where he is right now? Can I provide him with his medication?
anastasia romanova
March 22, 2008 @ 10:47 pm
BEREZOVSKY AND BELARUS KGB PLOT AGAINST US LAWYER
EMANUEL ZELTSER
On March 12, 2008, a prominent US lawyer, Emanuel Zeltser was arrested by the Belorussian KGB and was since kept in an unidentified KGB detention facility. The numerous requests by the US Embassy in Minsk, Belarus, to obtain access to Mr. Zeltser were denied 4 times. 4 official protests have been issued to the Belarus authorities by the US Embassy in Belarus and the US State Department, pursuant to Articles 5 and 36 of the Vienna Convention. This event has been covered by The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Forbes Magazine, Associated Press, U.S. News MSNBC Wire Services and others.
According to the new information made available on March 20th, Mr. Zeltser was severely beaten up in jail, including direct blows to his head; denied medicine critical to his health even though the Belarus authorities received a detailed medical report from Mr. Zeltser’s physician who stated that Mr. Zeltser may not survive without the medications indicated. Mr. Zeltser was on hunger strike for 7 days before he was finally allowed to see a lawyer appointed by the authorities. Said lawyer confirmed that Mr. Zeltser was still being denied access to the medications that were sent to him.
On March 21, Mr. Zeltser was officially charged with “Use of Forged Documents”.
The charge puzzled the legal scholars all over the world, including Belarusian lawyers. Mr. Zeltser was arrested immediately upon leaving the plane and clearly had no time to “use” the alleged “forged documents”. As this was Mr. Zeltser’s first trip to Belarus, he clearly had no previous opportunity to “use” the documents (whether forged or not) in the country. Another legal hurdle for the Belarus prosecutor: by definition, a document must be original. Even in Belarus. You cannot forge a copy or a computer page. Mr. Zeltser traveled with his computer and did not have any documents with him.
So, why go to such trouble as to charge a noted US lawyer with the crime that the authorities cannot possibly prove? Even in Belarus where the defense attorneys must (by law!) be “KGB accredited and cleared”?
Well, there are 2 reasons.
Reason No. 1. Emanuel Zeltser, a US citizen, arrived in Minsk at the time when the relationship between the USA and Belarus is at its lowest level ever and was the first US national who entered the country after the Belarus’s dictator Lukashenka sent the US ambassador home. Is the incarceration of the US lawyer retaliation? Of course, it is. But this is also a stern warning to the opposition (both in jail and not yet in jail): don’t be wrong – no international pressure and no economic sanctions can affect “the last dictator in Europe” (New York Times); we are strong and defiant and just got 3 more comrades: Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Kim Jong Il of North Korea.
Reason No. 2. Friendship. Yes, a true friendship exists, even in this cynical world of ours. A long and mutually advantageous friendship between the criminal fugitive wanted in most countries in the world, Boris Berezovsky and President Alexander Lukashenka. Berezovsky is a frequent guest in Belarus, his latest visit was on March 5. All Berezovsky’s trips to Minsk and meetings with Lukashenka are top state secret in order not to anger Russian President, Vladimir Putin who seeks Berezovsky’s extradition to Russia for serious crimes and falsification of an assassination plot based on which Berezovsky was able to secure his political asylum in Britain.
A quick look back in history: in 1994, a lawsuit against Inkombank (then one of the largest private Russian banks) for money laundering and racketeering resulted in the bank’s collapse. Boris Berezovsky was Inkombank’s major shareholder. Emanuel Zeltser was a lawyer against Inkombank. A recognized authority on Russian organized crime, Mr. Zeltser frequently appeared as expert on CNN, Fox News and other major media, exposing the most notorious members of the Russian mob. In 1999, at the invitation of the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services, Mr. Zeltser testified before the US Congress on the Russian organized crime and money laundering. Mr. Berezovsky was Mr. Zeltser’s frequent target. Sure, Mr. Berezovsky had more than enough reasons to hate Mr. Zeltser.
Once included in the list of 10 richest people on the planet, Boris Berezovsky has watched his vast wealth, initially estimated as 12 billion US dollars, rapidly disappearing. Endless lawsuits, enormous cost of personal security, extravagant life, support for Russian dissidents, Russian opposition parties and personal political ambitions, bad business decisions and investments, frozen accounts in various countries – all contributed to Mr. Berezovsky’s financial ruin.
The situation that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago has become reality: Berezovsky is no longer an oligarch and can no longer support the way of life he has been accustomed to. As one of his former associates remarks: “Boria pustoi” (Boris is empty). As the hardship keeps looming, Berezovsky had to make hard choices in his budget cuts. The most essential portion, security, is vitally important, so, 120 bodyguards escaped the job cut. His legal department, however, was less fortunate: once a major client of the largest law firms worldwide, Mr. Berezovsky was forced to scale down his legal representation to just 1 lawyer, Ms. Michelle Duncan, who seems to be quite busy defending his numerous lawsuits as well as many legal actions against her personally as Berezovsky’s co-conspirator.
As there is no available position in ‘Help Wanted’ sections for oligarchs and very little hope for the British government poverty subsidy, Mr. Berezovsky has decided to do what he does best: steal. As a trusted person of the Georgian billionaire, Badri Patarkatsishvili, Berezovsky had all information about Patarkatsishvili’s bank accounts, investments, properties, businesses and holdings. On Feb 12, Badri Patarkatsishvili, 52, a healthy man who never suffered any ailments, suddenly died of heart attack 3 hours after his meeting with Boris Berezovsky. All those who know Mr. Berezovsky had no doubt that he had been directly involved in the death of Mr. Patarkatsishvili.
Now when Badri Patarkatsishvili is dead, Berezovsky was certain he could quietly put all Mr. Patarkatsishvili’s wealth in his pocket and regain the coveted oligarch status. In fact, Mr. Berezovsky promised Mr. Lukashenko to cover all costs of Lord Bell’s public relations campaign aiming at improving international image of Belarus, to be paid from Mr. Patarkatsishvili’s funds. Isn’t it a great reason for celebration? Not so soon, Boris! Here comes again (guess, who?) Emanuel Zeltser who produced evidence that the late Badri Patarkatsishvili appointed his cousin, long time general manager and close friend and associate, Joseph Kay, executor of his will. Lord Bell will have to wait for his money.
What is to be done now? It is obvious that getting rid of Emanuel Zeltser has become Berezovsky’s top priority. With the sizable world inflation, the cost of assassination has gone up, and with his funds drastically reduced, Mr. Berezovsky decided, instead, to use his friendship channels (see “Friendship” above). Mr. Berezovsky learned (or, was informed by Belarus) of Emanuel Zeltser’s business visit to Minsk. Berezovsky asked his friend, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenka for a personal favor: to arrest and hold Emanuel Zeltser as he walks off the plane. While Mr. Lukashenka appeared to have no problem with that, he seemed a bit uneasy to do this based solely upon the direct request by Berezovsky. This problem, however, was quickly resolved to the mutual satisfaction of Mr. Berezovsky and Mr. Lukashenka: Berezovsky’s attorney (guess, who) Michelle Duncan sent the request to the Belarus authorities to apprehend Mr. Zeltser based on unfounded accusation of (guess, what) “use of forged documents”. Not too much work for the Belarus prosecutor: he just copied the Berezovsky/Duncan letter word by word.
Now Boris Berezovsky has accomplished the first phase: Emanuel Zeltser is in Belarusian jail. But Berezovsky still cannot automatically get access to Mr. Patarkatsishvili’s funds as the document related to Mr. Patarkatsishvili’s will exists. Berezovsky has embarked on a new plan: using late Badri Patarkatsishvili’s ex-wife, Inna Gudavadze (Mr. Patarkatsishvili married again in the late 90s) as “plaintiff”, he is planning to start a lawsuit claiming that the documents appointing Joseph Kay as executor (guess, what) “are forged”. The lawyer representing Inna Gudavadze is (guess, who) the same Michelle Duncan who is on Mr. Berezovsky’s payroll. Ms. Gudavadze, who made a deal with Berezovsky to split the money they hope to get, does not realize that, in the end ALL the funds have been intended for Mr. Berezovsky.
The situation cannot be more favorable for Berezovsky: Emanuel Zeltser, the lawyer who has all the documents and the evidence and would handle the case, has been locked up in Belarusian jail and will be there for as long as Berezovsky desires and, if needed, may suffer a convenient lethal heart attack.