Belarusian Investigators Interrogated Boris Berezovsky
7- 29.05.2008, 17:21
It has been told to Kommersant by the Russian oligarch himself. He has been interrogated in the case of the US lawyer Emanuel Zeltser.
Boris Berezovsky has informed that he hadn’t met one investigator, but the whole operational and investigative team from Belarus. “They asked to testify about Zeltser, in particular, what he and Joseph Kay are laying claims for,” Berezovsky explained. “I told everything I knew”.
When Georgian billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili died, his assets became the subject of a dispute pitting the widow backed by Boris Berezovsky, against his step cousin, Joseph Kay, who is represented by Mr. Zeltser. Emanuel Zeltser, a lawyer of Joseph Kay, is kept in the remand prison of the KGB of Belarus since March 12. First reports said he was charged with a crime under Article 380 Part 2 of the Criminal Code (“Use of falsified official document representing rights by a group of people by previous concert”).
Yesterday it was reported that a case was opened under Part 1, 328 Article of the Criminal Code penalizing the carriage and possession of illegal drugs and under Part 2, Article 228 that carries punishment for the smuggling of drugs.
“The case of U.S. national Emanuel Zeltser, detained in the middle of March at Minsk-2 Airport has been sent to court,” KGB spokesman Valery Nadtachayeu said. “He has been charged with the smuggling and illegal possession of drugs and psychotropic substances.”
The US Department of State has urged Minsk to release Emanuel Zeltser on “humanitarian grounds.” Emanual Zeltser health condition is reported to decline in the KGB prison.
On 25 April the United States consul Caroline Savage visited the arrested in Minsk American lawyer Emanuel Zeltser.
According to the consul, Zeltser said her he had been beaten on the second and third days of his detention. Caroline Savage said it in the interview to BelaPAN. According to the consul, Zeltser lost a considerable amount of weight and was very weak, had difficulty walking and talking.
The U.S. consul sent a report to Washington based on her visit. After that the Belarusian Charge d'Affaires in the U.S. was summoned to the Department of State.
