Belneftekhim frightened of claim Zeltser

Concern is trying to disown from the case of Emanuel Zeltser.

Belneftekhim had nothing to do with the arrest of US lawyer Emanuel Zeltser in March 2008, Maryna Kastsyuchenka, spokeswoman for the state petrochemical conglomerate, told BelaPAN.

Belneftekhim has not received any notifications of a lawsuit against it, and “there is yet nothing to comment on,” she said.

As charter97.org reported, Mr. Zeltser, who spent 16 months in custody in Belarus several years ago, filed the suit together with his secretary Vladlena Funk, accusing Belneftekhim of conspiring with the Committee for State Security (KGB) to kidnap them, reported courthousenews.com on July 17.

"This action relates to the widely reported kidnapping, unlawful detention and torture of American citizens, Emanuel Zeltser and Vladena Funk, by the Belarusian KGB at the instigation of the defendants and at the direction of Belarusian dictator, Alexander Lukashenka, in a failed criminal effort designed by the defendants and the Byelorussian government to force hand of the United States Government to lift economic sanctions imposed against the defendants," says that complaint that the two lodged with the Kings County Supreme Court in New York City.

Mr. Zeltser and Ms. Funk were arrested in March 2008. Authorities in Belarus said that they had been apprehended upon their arrival in Minsk.

In August 2008, Mr. Zeltser was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of "attempted industrial espionage" and the use of fake documents. His secretary was sentenced to one year in prison on the same charges. The Minsk City Court held the trial behind closed doors and no details of the case were disclosed to the public.

The two maintained their innocence.

Mr. Zeltser then insisted that his arrest was orchestrated by self-exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky and “a high-ranking Belarusian official.” According to him, his secretary and he were accused of forging the will of Badri Patarkatsishvili, a Georgian billionaire who died in London in February 2008 at the age of 52, with the widow and Mr. Berezovsky pressing for the charges. Mr. Zeltser, who had been a lawyer for the Georgian billionaire, also claimed that Mr. Patarkatsishvili had owned a stake in a Belarusian oil refinery, an allegation that the Belarusian authorities flatly denied.

Ms. Funk spent 12 months in custody. Mr. Zeltser was released on June 30, 2009 after being pardoned by Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

The plaintiffs claim that KGB officers abducted them on March 10, 2008 during a meeting in London with an opponent of Mr. Zeltser`s clients. They seek $20 million each in compensatory damages and $50 million each in punitive damages for assault, emotional distress, false imprisonment, tortious interference, conversion and prima facie tort.