Unless a Kuwaiti judge agrees to hear evidence that could exonerate her, Marsha Lazareva, an investment-firm CEO who was thrown into a Kuwaiti prison based on what former FBI officials say are falsified documents and fabricated testimony, may be doomed to spend a decade behind bars doing hard labor.
As Newsmax reported last week, Lazareva, the mother of a 5-year-old boy who thinks she’s away on an extended business trip, has spent the past year in a remote Kuwaiti prison where she’s sharing a cell with as many as six other women.
Her attorneys insist the allegation that she misappropriated funds is groundless, and they warn that her health is deteriorating.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who journeyed to Kuwait to help represent Lazareva at a hearing held over Easter weekend, tells Newsmax that the chief judge in the case, who had recused himself, has now “unrecused” himself. He’s apparently back in charge.
Bondi comments: “Not only is Marsha continuing to suffer significant human rights abuse while falsely incarcerated, but the court process is lacking in due process.
The judge presiding over the hearing has refused to allow any of Lazareva’s witnesses to testify -- including former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh. Sunday marked the second time Freeh and an associate traveled to Kuwait only to be refused permission to testify on Lazareva’s behalf.
Bondi states the judge continued the case to Sunday May 5th, when he apparently plans to issue a verdict on Lazareva’s appeal.
Lazareva has posted a mind-boggling bail of $33 million, yet remains behind bars.
Bondi told Newsmax on Sunday: “We are disappointed, but will not be deterred in our fight for the rule of law and release of this Christian woman.”
Bondi says Lazareva’s imprisonment stems from money and gender. Her firm holds important Department of Defense contracts that her competitors covet, she says.
Others involved in Lazareva’s case include: Others involved in the case include: Former U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, Jim Nicholson, former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, attorney David Hammond of Crowell & Moring, and Neil Bush, the brother of former President George W. Bush.
As the son of the late former President George H.W. Bush, Bush is keenly aware of his family's historic ties to the Kuwaiti government.
In a recent appearance on Newsmax TV, Bush cited his father’s role in liberating Kuwait from Saddam Hussein in the 1991 Gulf War.
“I, as a member of this family," he said, "would hate to see a blemish on Kuwait’s record. I’d hate to see our U.S.-Kuwaiti relations damaged by this incident.”
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