Bout’s defense team appeals 25-year prison term

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Published time: January 31, 2013 11:22
Edited time: January 31, 2013 15:22

Viktor Bout. (AFP Photo / Nicolas Asfouri)

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Viktor Bout case

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Arms, Court, Crime, Human rights, Russia, USA

The attorney for Russian businessman Viktor Bout say his conviction was revenge conducted for political or personal reasons and is unprecedented in US history.

Lawyer Albert Dayan told reporters that the 55-page appeal proves his client innocent and demonstrates his extradition from Thailand in 2008, and subsequent 2012 conviction were illegal.

Viktor Bout used to be a successful businessman specializing on cargo transportation. In March 2008 he was arrested in Thailand charged with conspiracy to murder US citizens. Undercover US agents claimed that Bout agreed to supply anti-aircraft missiles to Colombian leftist guerrillas who could potentially use them in attacks on US aircraft.

In April 2012 the Federal Court of New York sentenced the Bout to 25 years in a top security prison.

Albert Dayan says Bout had no intention of cooperating with Colombian left-wing radicals, but US agents drew the businessman into a deliberately organized trap. After this, the US authorities represented by the ambassador to Thailand, the Attorney General and even the US President applied enormous pressure on the Thai government in order to influence the court to extradite the Russian citizen to the United States.It was because of this interference Bout was deprived of a fair trial and eventually the court ordered his extradition, the lawyer added.

Earlier the lawyer claimed US officials used bribery and intimidation to achieve their objective.

Dayan also states in his appeal that the US court convicted his client of an impossible crime – a conspiracy to commit unintended murder.

The Russian businessman pleaded innocent in court and continues to deny all the charges.

Russia has filed an official extradition request, but the US Department of Justice rejected it in November.

Comments (9)

Kevin Wiederhold 01.02.2013 17:47

A comment of mine removed from Yahoo serious mental defect American forums.

I stated ......"Do you all know that the word ASSOCIATION can be considered a conspiring racketeering enterprise according to federal law? Did you all know that Bar ASSOCIATION are actually a racketeering enterprise allowed to destroy your life and livelhood and are the pathetic party that is in charge of 'prosecuting' lawyers for their insane schizo greedy crimes ? How can a Bar #$%$_hol_ ciation be responsible for that? All conspiring racketeering coverups to protect racketeering lawyers and judges. Can you find the word ASSOCIATIONS in the Constitution?? Cmon fa tag FBI(SIO) scuzballs answer me. I am posting this on the Russian website as insane zionists from the USA placed Associations in many parts of their constitution insanely attempting to destroy their nation since 1990 using insane, scum lawyers. God bless them that they are figuring these insane things out now and kicking the trash out of their good, sane Godly Russian Orthodox democratic society/nation" God speed Russia. ..Also the US Dept of Insane Justice called me a piece of s__ this morning. Russia kindly grant me political asylum out of insane, schizo, tard nation asap. Thx 'Worthless Goyim Windsurfing (Iowa Corn Fed) Animal'.

So rry to say Russia, I have the worst 'unprecedented' case in American History. You dont see this man wanted to stay in the US do you? I know what I know because the cowards forced me to study in their prison libraries :o)

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Victor is a hostage for Mikhail Khodorkovsky (unregistered) 31.01.2013 22:18

But Putin is not willing to make a mockery of the rule of law by giving in to people who respect no laws not even their own.

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AmericanTaxPayer (unregistered) 31.01.2013 18:16

The US, Israel, and some European countries have been providing arms to shady characters for decades, where are the cases against some of the people involved?

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