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US lawyer Zeltser suits Belnaftakhim over his arrest in March 2008

US lawyer Emanuel Zeltser, who spent 16 months in custody in Belarus several years ago, and his secretary Vladlena Funk have filed a lawsuit against Belarusian state petrochemical conglomerate Belnaftakhim, which they accuse of conspiring with the Committee for State Security (KGB) to kidnap them, reported courthousenews.com on July 17, BelaPAN said.

"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 [sic] 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 Russian citizen Vladlena Funk were arrested in March 2008 after the Belarusian authorities said arriving 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 with an opponent of Mr. Zeltser`s clients.

"The sadistic acts of violence committed by the KGB with active participation of the defendants against Mr. Zeltser and Ms. Funk shock the conscience, grossly deviate from acceptable norms of human behavior, and violate the law of nations and international law of human rights," the complaint reads. "The KGB agents drugged and abducted Mr. Zeltser and Ms. Funk from a restaurant in London, transported them to a Belarusian KGB detention facility against their will, savagely beat them repeatedly, starved them, deprived them of sleep, denied them access to life-sustaining medications and medical treatment, and held them hostage on bogus charges of `spying` - despite having been transported to Belarus against their will."

The plaintiffs claim that Belnaftakhim conspired in their "abduction."

"Belneftekhim [Belnaftakhim] is tightly controlled by illegally elected president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenka and members of his clique," the complaint says. "Lukashenka`s control over Belneftekhim Belarus and Belneftekhim USA is the basis for the designation of Belneftekhim Belarus and Belneftekhim USA as persons `who undermine the Belarusian democratic processes or engage in political repression or public corruption.`"

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.