Belarus gets into the kidnapping and torture game.

[Dinner]

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Bush's policy of kidnapping people off streets in other nations, torturing them, and then holding them indefinitely without trial has spread only this time an American in the victim and the dictatorship of Belarus is the culprit. An American attorney on a business trip to London found that the coffee he had bought had been drugged by Belarus's KGB, he was kidnapped by the KGB, brought secretly to Belarus , tortured, denied medical care, and then imprisoned indefinitely without trial.

It's sad to see the chickens have come home to roost.

The article is about a 1 minute 50 seconds or so into this video.

[self biased]

summary? i'm too lazy to watch the video.

[Dinner]

A Google search shows that Emanuel Zeltser is a prominent human rights attorney from NYC who has brought several cases against the dictatorship in Belarus for human rights abuses. The dictator apparently didn't like that so they kidnapped him, tortured him, and now keep him in prison. This is just outrageous.

http://www.saveemanuelzeltser.com/

He's never even been in Belarus before he was kidnapped from a cafe in central London after KGB agents drugged his coffee and stuffed him in to a van. One of the trumped up charges the KGB has "convicted" him of was illegally importing drugs into Belarus. The supposed illegal drugs were his heart medication and his diabetes medication which he had in his pocket at the time the KGB kidnapped him from London and then took him against his will to Belarus.

[Riesstiu IV]

The dictator is a Dr. Phil look alike. Belarus is a strange European anomaly. The only reason a Dr. Philshenko remains in power is because Belarus itself has absolutely no value in terms of untapped resources or in strategic terms. Hence why no one really cares what happens there and there is no serious international pressure from Western powers.

[Dinner]

Well, that and that he's a nice little compliant asspuppet for Putin.

[Dinner]

Seriously, next time I'm in London I will not be having the sushi or any coffee. The KGB is drugging and poisoning that stuff.

[Riesstiu IV]

Don't worry. If you are ever poisoned in London, you will know that is just Serb's way of greeting people... before plunging an ice-pick into your head.

[Pekka]

Wasn't that other job done in London as well? Damn, it's a dangerous place, lots of hot activity, better stay out

Anyway, sucks for this guy. Hopefully he gets out soon and in full health.

[Dinner]

Sucks for him? Well, yeah but his only "crime" was legally bring law suits under US law on behalf of people who suffered human rights abuses under the Leshenko dictatorship. For that Leshenko had him kidnapped, tortured, and imprisoned without trial.

[Pekka]

Yes, and that's why it sucks for him.

[Theben]

Ah, I heard about this earlier but didn't know why they would target him. Being a thorn in the dictator's side would be a good reason.

I doubt the ex-KGB would need an excuse like recent American activities to rendition suspects, since the KGB acted that way since it was founded. But they do know it hurts our justification when we condemn their actions.

[David Floyd]

So he's a US citizen?

I don't understand - why aren't we reducing Belarus to a stone age-level nation right now?

[Whoha]

For one thing they presumably have not released any CCTV tapes of the incident.

[Saras]

So he's a US citizen?

I don't understand - why aren't we reducing Belarus to a stone age-level nation right now?

My house is downwind and 30 km from their border... PLEASE

[Dinner]

On the upside gravel and scrap metal prices would likely get cheaper in Lithuania after Belarus is bombed into the stone age.