Thread: 'Merchant of Death' arrested in Bangkok

If he'd been doing it in the 50's 60's or 7-'s he might have got to own Harrods.

Alla Bout calls verdict a victory
Alla Bout, the wife of Russian citizen Victor Bout, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday night in the Southern District of New York called the verdict a "victory." She told reporters after the hearing that it was a victory because the sentenced Victor to the minimum time allowable and in this regard recognized the failure of the prosecution’s arguments.
Mrs. Bout also expressed hope that issues concerning the extradition of her husband may be settled soon.

Russia may return Bout to Thailand
06/04/2012


© AFP/Nicolas ASFOURI

MOSCOW, April 6 - RAPSI. The Russian authorities may put diplomatic pressure on Thailand to cancel the 2010 decision to extradite its citizen Viktor Bout to the United States. who was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a U.S. court, attorney Douglas Mcnabb, an international law specialist, told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) on Friday.

Bout was arrested in a Bangkok hotel in March 2008 with U.S. representatives taking part in the operations. The United States considers Bout the worlds number-one arms dealer. The United States then requested his extradition to the United States.

In 2009, a Thai court dismissed the request as Bout is a Russian citizen, and found the request to be political prosecution. However, in 2010, an appeals court satisfied a U.S. appeal against the lower-court decision and agreed to extradite Bout.

McNabb suggests that the Russian government could conceivably act in conjunction with the Thai government to secure Bout's legitimate departure from the United States based on the recent death of his Thai defense attorney Lak Nitivat Vichan.

Specifically, Vichan passed away during a trial examining the legitimacy of Bout's extradition from Thailand.

The trial is on hold until a new defense attorney is secured.

If the trial continues and the court holds that the extradition was illegal, the Thai government will be entitled in accordance with a U.S.-Thai extradition treaty to legitimately demand Bout's return.

While Bout has no rights as an individual under the treaty, the Thai government does.

While McNabb admitted this scenario is farfetched, he suggested it is worth pursuing for Russia.

The New York Federal Court sentenced Bout to 25 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of his intention to sell arms to the Revolutioary Armed Forces of Columbia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry believes the U.S. authorities did not provide sufficient evidence of Bout's intent.

rapsinews.com

^ & pig's will fly...

Originally Posted by Mid

The United States considers Bout the worlds number-one arms dealer

Convicted Russian Arms Dealer Drops U.S. Appeal
05 November 2013


Bout arriving in White Plains, New York in 2010, after being extradited from Thailand.
United States Drug Enforcement Administration

Arms dealer Viktor Bout has withdrawn his appeal of a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. for conspiring to kill U.S. soldiers, saying he considered further motions pointless, his wife said Tuesday.

A three-judge panel at a U.S. appeals court rejected Bout's previous appeal in September, rejecting his argument that he was a victim of a "vindictive" prosecution and was entrapped by a law enforcement sting.

Bout's wife, Alla, said dropping further appeals "was Viktor's decision," RAPSI reported.

"There is no point in a further appeal at the full Court of Appeals or at the U.S. Supreme Court," she said.

"The situation would be the same."

Alla Bout said her husband has fired his attorney and asked lawyer Alexei Binetsky to represent him. She didn't not elaborate on the reasons.

Bout was convicted in 2012 for conspiring to kill U.S. soldiers and civilians by agreeing to sell weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents had been posing as FARC members during the sting, and Bout argues he was ensnared.

themoscowtimes.com