Zeltser suspended hunger strike till June 30

• 25.06.2009, 16:43

The US citizen hopes this time will be enough for the court and the penal colony administration to find his documents for the amnesty.

The prisoners, sentenced to three years in penal colony, suspended his hunger strike till June 30.

Lawyer Zmitser Harachka said this on June 25 after his visit to penal colony #15 in Mahilou, where US lawyer Emanuel Zeltser is serving his term of punishment.

We remind that the American lawyer has been on hunger strike in the Mahilou penal colony since June 8 protesting against actions of the Minsk City Court that doesn’t send the documents the colony administration needs to include Zeltser in the amnesty.

Zmitser Harachka said Mahilou colony #15 sent a request to the Minsk City Court for US national Emanuel Zeltser’s documents on May 7. The request was registered and an office’s number.

This information denies the statement of head of the Supreme Head of Belarus Valyantsin Sukala, who told journalists on June 25 that the Minsk City Court didn’t have a request for Zeltser’s case.

The lawyer thinks Zeltser falls within the law on amnesty, taken effect a month ago. On June 11, he made a complaint to the Supreme Court and Prosecutor’s General Office against the Minsk City Court.

The General Prosecutor’s Office answered this issue didn’t fall under its competence, and sent Harachka’s complaint to the justice department of the Minsk city executive committee.

Emanuel Zeltser and Vladlena Funk were detained in Minsk on March 12, 2008. On August 11, the Minsk City Court sentenced Emanuel Zeltser to three years of imprisonment for using fake documents and attempted industrial espionage. His secretary Vladlena Funk (Bruskova) was sentenced to one year of imprisonment.

All trials were held behind closed doors.

The United States demands to release Emanuel Zeltser immediately on humanitarian grounds as his health has deteriorated in prison.