Viktor Bout : Russia to Continue Efforts to Free Convicted in US

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Russia to Continue Efforts to Free Russian Citizen Bout Convicted in US
19.11.2015

Moscow will not stop efforts to release Russian national Viktor Bout convicted in the United States for selling weapons to US agents, Russian Foreign Ministry's Human Rights Ombudsman Konstantin Dolgov said Thursday.


US Sanctions Lifting to Make Defense of Russian Citizen Viktor Bout Easier


MOSCOW

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Background

2008

'Merchant of Death' arrested in Bangkok



Notorious arms smuggler Viktor Anatoljevigech or Bout, known as "merchant of death", was arrested in Bangkok Thursday afternoon, police said.

Anatoljevigech, 41, allegedly a former KGB agent who faces charges of smuggling weapons to the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.) was arrested at his room on the 27th floor of the Sofitel Hotel at 3 pm Thrusday.

The arrest was made with cooperation by the Crime Suppression Division and US officials, including the Drug Enforcement Agency officials.

Police said a press conference will be held Friday to announce details of Anatoljevigech's arrest.

The Nation

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Notorious international arms dealer charged in US

Washington - Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, accused for years of fuelling conflicts around the world, has been charged in the US with conspiracy to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to Colombian rebels, the US Justice Department said Thursday.

Bout was arrested Thursday in Thailand in what the Justice Department said was the result of close cooperation between US and Thai authorities. The United States said they would seek his extradition.

The charges stem from a sting operation in which Bout and an accomplice agreed to sell weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which is designated a terrorist organization in the United States.

Bout, 41, and Andrew Smulian offered to sell and deliver surface to air missiles, helicopters and armor piercing rocket launchers in a series of phone calls and emails to two US Drug Enforcement Agency informants posing at FARC members.

Bout and Smulian were apparently led to Thailand by the informants to close the deal and were arrested by Thai police, the DEA said.

A former officer in the Soviet army, Bout has since become one of the most notorious arms dealers in the world, accused of selling weapons to the Taliban in Afghanistan and to the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Bout has denied the past charges.

Bout and Smulian face up to 15 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The charges were unsealed Thursday in a New York federal court.

US Attorney Michael J Garcia in a press conference said the arrest ended "the reign of one of the world's most wanted arms traffickers."

"Viktor Bout and Andrew Smulian agreed to arm terrorists with high-powered weapons that have fueled some of the most violent conflicts in recent memory," Garcia said.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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youtube.com

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Background

2008

Viktor Bout sent to prison in Bangkok

(BangkokPost.com, Agencies) - The Criminal Court sent Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was arrested by Thai police on in Bangkok on Thursday, to Bangkok Special Prison on Saturday.

Police investigators opposed the court for his bail.

Bout, who appeared in a court in a red polo shirt and khaki shorts, was relaxed during the brief hearing Saturday. He was fingerprinted in front of the media.

Lak Nitiwatvichan, his Thai lawyer who was recommended by the Russian embassy in Bangkok, insisted that Bout had done nothing wrong but said he was willing to stand trial in Thailand.

"He was a military man. He has done nothing wrong," Lak told reporters. "Thailand is a sovereign country, so since he was arrested in Thailand, he is willing to be prosecuted under Thai law."

The 41-year-old former Russian major is said to be the inspiration for the film "Lord of War, " which starred Nicolas Cage as the arms trader.


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Bout 'resisted expulsion to US'

Thai authorities tried to force Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to get on a plane to the United States hours after his arrest in Bangkok earlier this month, the legal counsel for the alleged "Lord of War" claimed on Monday.

Bout, dubbed the "Merchant of Death" by his detractors, was arrested in Bangkok on March 6 in a US-led sting operation that allegedly caught him making a deal with Colombian rebels.

On March 7, Thai police said Bout, 41, would remain in the kingdom to face possible charges of committing illegal activities in the country. If Thai courts turn down the case, Bout faces extradition to the US.

But Bout's Russian lawyer Dasgupta Yan on Monday told a press conference in Bangkok that Thai authorities had tried to force his client to board a plane to the US immediately after his arrest. He said US officials were also present at the time.

"Some government officials at the moment of his detention tried to send him to the United States without proper extradition procedures," said Yan, of the Gridnav & Partners law firm.

"They told my client you need to take an aircraft to the United States, they want to talk to you there. But my client was saying I'm not ready to go, because I don't understand why I'm arrested and secondly I didn't have any plans to go to the United States," said Yan.

In the US, Bout faces charges of attempting to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which is designated a terrorist organization in the United States, according to the US Justice Department.

Bout was arrested in a posh Bangkok hotel while "discussing business" with five other Russian nationals and one British national.

Bout's partner Andrew Smulian was also present at the meeting but whether he too was arrested in Thailand remains a mystery. Smulian showed up in New York a few days after Bout's Bangkok arrest. He is now in US custody.

"We don't really understand what happened to Smulian, it might be that he was eager to get arrested. It's quite strange," said Bout's lawyer, who acknowledged that Smulian may be preparing to testify against his client.

On Wednesday, Bout's 12-day detention period at a Bangkok maximum security prison will expire, after which Thai prosecutors will need to request another 12-day extension or else press charges against him.

"We hope that no violation of Thai law and international norms are going to be committed by officials in relation with out client," said Yan.

Yan denied press reports that the Russian government wanted Bout extradited to Moscow.

"Mr Bout in Russia is considered to be a law-obedient citizen. We don't have a single criminal case against Mr Bout, his companies or his business. Nothing," said Yan.

Starting his career as an officer in the Soviet army, Bout later became one of the most notorious arms' dealers in the world, accused of selling weapons to the Taliban in Afghanistan and to the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Bout has denied the past charges.

Bout and Smulian face up to 15 years in prison on US charges of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

The 41-year-old former Russian major was the subject of the book Merchant of Death by Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun, published last year.

Some say he was the inspiration for the 2005 film Lord of War starring Nicolas Cage as an arms dealer named Yuri Orlov. According to the director, a key scene in the film used an Antonov AN-12 aircraft rented from Bout and his Skylink airline, one of more than a dozen the arms trafficker maintained.

(dpa, BangkokPost.com)

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Background

Thai court dismisses case against Russian "Merchant of Death"
Aug 11, 2009

Bangkok - A Thai court Tuesday dismissed a case against Russian national Viktor Bout, an alleged gun-runner dubbed the 'Merchant of Death,' allowing the prosecution 72 hours to appeal the verdict.

'If the prosecution doesn't appeal within 72 hours, then Viktor Bout is free,' judge Kittakorn Phattanasiri said.

Bout was arrested at a Bangkok hotel in March 2008 in a joint US-Thai sting operation that caught the Russian negotiating a deal to sell arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Although prosecutors failed to prove Bout had committed a crime in Thailand, they filed a case against him seeking his extradition to the US, where there is a warrant for Bout's arrest on armaments trafficking charges.

But Bangkok Criminal Court ruled that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence to justify Bout's extradition.

Judges noted that the Thai Foreign Ministry does not classify FARC as either a terrorist or an international criminal organization.

Both the US and Russian governments have been exerting pressure on Thailand in the Bout case, with Washington urging his extradition and Moscow demanding his return home.

Bout's colourful career provided the gist for the 2005 Hollywood film Lord of War, starring Nicholas Cage.

monstersandcritics.com


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Russian 'Merchant of Death' to appear in Thai court on Feb. 16
05/02/2010


REUTERS/ Kerek Wongsa

Russian businessman and alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout has been summoned to appear in a Thai court on February 16, one of his lawyers said on Friday.

Former Russian army officer Bout, 42, remains in custody in a Thai jail after the Bangkok Criminal Court refused in August to extradite him to the United States, where he is facing four terrorism-related charges and a possible life sentence.

"I was informed that my client had been asked to appear in court on February 16. However, I was not told why he had been summoned," Thai lawyer Chamroen Panompakakom told RIA Novosti.

He suggested that Bout could face an additional questioning or the announcement of an appeals court verdict on his extradition case.

A former lieutenant in the Russian military, who quit the armed forces in 1991, Bout then allegedly transformed himself into an international arms dealer, earning himself the nickname "the Merchant of Death."

He was arrested in Thailand in March 2008 during a sting operation led by U.S. agents.

The United States has accused Bout of conspiring with others to sell millions of dollars' worth of weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), among other illegal arms deals, and "threatening lives of U.S. citizens."

Bout has repeatedly denied the accusations.

The Bangkok Criminal Court ruled in favor of Bout in August and refused to extradite the Russian businessman to the United States citing insufficient grounds.

Thai prosecutors representing Washington in the trial lodged an appeal on August 26 against the Bangkok court's ruling. The appeals court verdict will be final, as Thailand's Supreme Court does not review extradition cases.

en.rian.ru

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Background

20-08-2010

The Appeal Court on Friday allowed a request by the United States for the extradition of Viktor Bout, the Russian alleged arms dealer dubbed the "Merchant of Death''.

"The court has decided to detain him for extradition to the US,'' judge Jitakorn Patanasiri said, overturning a ruling last year by a lower court, which had refused to send him to the United States.

http://bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/192081/court-grants-extradition-of-viktor-bout


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Russia Seeks Bout's Return After Thai Extradition Case, Interfax Reports

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He should have taken refuge in a third-world embassy in London to escape extradition.

Oh dear. I need a good sit down. Obviously Mr Bout forgot who he was fukkin with.

The silver lining appears to be that he has lost not an insignificant number of kilos while incarcerated. That has to have boosted his self-esteem.