Zeltser trial adjourned till Jul 31

The Minsk City Court will resume hearing the crimincal charges against US lawyer Emmanuel Zeltser and his Russian secretary Vladlena Funk on July 31, reports Belapan.

The trial, chaired by Justice Dzmitry Klimovich, commenced today behind the closed doors.

Neither relatives nor American diplomats were allowed in a court room. Zeltser is facing up to seven years in prison on charges of drug trafficking and commercial espionage. Funk can be sentenced to three years of imprisonment. Dzmitry Harachka, the lawyer for Zeltser and Funk, told reporters that the defense had signed a written pledge not to reveal the minutes of the hearing.

At the same time, he noted that "defense is totally satisfied with how the process has begun".