US urge Belarusian authorities to release Zeltser: he may die in prison
- 11.12.2008, 8:57
The United States urge the Belarusian authorities to release American citizen Emanuel Zeltser on humanitarian grounds, the US Department of State says.
The statement says Mr. Zeltser was last visited by a US Embassy official on November 19, after his transfer to a prison in Mahilou. “The prison doctor reported the Mr. Zeltser's health was ‘satisfactory’ even though he arrived with high blood pressure and was placed immediately into the prison medical unit where he remains,” the document says. It also emphasised “Mr. Zeltser continues to complain of chronic back and leg pain and expresses extreme concern about his high blood pressure.”
The Department of State reports “The US Embassy requested permission for Mr. Zeltser to be treated in a public hospital and examined by an independent doctor.” The American party expressed its disagreement with the Belarusian authorities who denied the requests “on the premise that all necessary resources, including medication, are available for Mr. Zeltser's medical care”.
“We continue to strongly urge the Belarusian authorities to release Mr. Zeltser on humanitarian grounds before this situation takes an irrevocable turn,” the Department of State emphasised.
Emanuel Zeltser and his secretary, Russian citizen Vladlena Funk were detained at the National Airport Minsk on March 12, 2008. On August 11, Emanuel Zeltser was sentenced to 3 years and Funk to one year of imprisonment for attempted industrial espionage and the use of fake documents. The Supreme Court of Belarus upheld this judgement on October 31. All trials in this case were held behind the closed doors.
Zeltser is a lawyer of US citizen Joseph Kay, a distant relative of Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili. The US Department of State demanded the Belarusian authorities to release the American lawyer on humanitarian grounds as his health has deteriorated in prison without the prescribed medicines. According to the US consul Caroline Savage, who visited the arrested man consul, Zeltser said to her he had been beaten on the second and third days of his detention.