Belarus court sentences U.S. lawyer to three years
Legal World
A court in Belarus jailed a U.S. lawyer for three years on Monday on charges of industrial espionage and carrying forged documents, a verdict certain to plunge relations between the two countries deeper into crisis.
The trial of New York-based lawyer Emmanuel Zeltser, a specialist in Russian law and organized crime, was held behind closed doors. The verdict was announced by the defendant's lawyer, Dmitry Goryachko.
"My position is that he did not commit these crimes," Goryachko told Reuters. "We will, of course, be making an appeal."
Zeltser's secretary, Vladlena Bruskova, was jailed for a year.
The U.S. State Department has repeatedly expressed concern over his arrest and sought his release on grounds of ill health.
On Monday, the U.S. embassy said it could not judge whether the trial met international standards as it had not been present. It repeated calls to be granted access to Zeltser.
"We have not been granted consular access to him for more than two months," it said. "We ... call upon the Belarsussian authorities to provide him with all the medication which has been prescribed to him."
Zeltser was detained in March on his arrival in Belarus, where he was to represent the interests of Josef Kay, a relative of the late Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili.
Related listings
-
Deposed Thai PM flees to Britain amid court case
Legal World 08/10/2008Deposed Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his family have fled to the United Kingdom, the former leader said Monday after he and his wife skipped a hearing on corruption charges in a Thai court.A handwritten statement from Thaksin issued Mon...
-
Spanish court opens second Tibet probe
Legal World 08/06/2008Spain's National Court on Tuesday said it will review allegations that two Chinese government ministers and five other officials were responsible for repressing protests against Chinese rule in Tibet earlier this year.Two Spanish pro-Tibet groups fil...
-
German court orders treatment over pope incident
Legal World 08/05/2008A court ordered a German who jumped a security barrier and grabbed hold of Pope Benedict XVI's popemobile last year in the Vatican to undergo treatment but stopped short of sending him to a psychiatric hospital.Security guards swiftly tackled and pin...
Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.