Mikhail Belozersky was arrested in Bangkok on Thursday with business colleague Viktor Bout. Bout is accused of illegally flooding Africa, as well as other parts of the world, with weapons.
In a frank and shocking interview with Russia Today, Belozersky describes his arrest and brief detention. He says that while they were in custody he was denied a translator and access to a phone. “They didn’t even contact our embassy,” he said. According to Belozersky what later happened ‘was simply torture’. “I spent five hours with my hands cuffed behind my back,” he said. The businessman added that his guards even refused to release his hands so he could use the toilet. “All this time I was given no explanation about what was happening to me or why I was in custody,” he said. Before he was released without explanation, Belozersky said he was quizzed by five Americans in civilian clothes. “An American man told me I should immediately leave Thailand, otherwise I’d be in trouble,” he said. “I was warned that if I told this story to anyone, something really bad could happen to me – even a fatal accident,” Bout’s business partner added. Earlier a court in Thailand rejected Bout’s bail appeal. Suspected international arms dealer Viktor Bout could face charges of terrorism in the U.S. and Thailand and war crimes in Africa. He's currently being held in a Bangkok jail after being arrested in the Thai capital for allegedly trying to sell weapons to Colombian FARC guerillas. A UN-backed court in Sierra Leone said they'd like to “get their hands on” the Russian to stand trial.