Thais extradite Bout to US trial
Source: Agencies |
November 17, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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THAILAND extradited accused Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout to the United States yesterday to face terrorism charges, siding with Washington in a tug of war with Moscow over whether to send him to stand trial or let him go home.
The Cabinet approved Bout's extradition yesterday after a long legal battle, and police said the 43-year-old was put aboard a plane that departed Bangkok in the afternoon in the custody of eight US officials.
In New York, a law enforcement officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, declined to name the airport that Bout is expected to land.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said his Cabinet had approved extradition after acknowledging an earlier appeals court decision that Bout could be legally extradited.
Bout, a former Soviet air force officer who is reputed to have been one of the world's most prolific arms dealers, was arrested at a Bangkok luxury hotel in March 2008 as part of a sting operation led by US Drug Enforcement Administration agents.
Bout has allegedly supplied weapons that fueled civil wars in South America, the Middle East and Africa, with clients including Liberia's Charles Taylor and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and both sides in Angola's civil war. He has been referred to as "The Merchant of Death," and was an inspiration for the arms dealer played by Nicolas Cage in the 2005 film "Lord of War."
The head of a lucrative air transport empire, Bout had long evaded UN and US sanctions aimed at blocking his financial activities and curbing his travel. He claims he ran a legitimate business and never sold weapons, and fought to avoid extradition.
Russia yesterday called the extradition as "unlawful."
"From a legal point of view what has happened cannot have any rational explanation or justification," said a statement issued in Moscow by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The Cabinet approved Bout's extradition yesterday after a long legal battle, and police said the 43-year-old was put aboard a plane that departed Bangkok in the afternoon in the custody of eight US officials.
In New York, a law enforcement officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, declined to name the airport that Bout is expected to land.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said his Cabinet had approved extradition after acknowledging an earlier appeals court decision that Bout could be legally extradited.
Bout, a former Soviet air force officer who is reputed to have been one of the world's most prolific arms dealers, was arrested at a Bangkok luxury hotel in March 2008 as part of a sting operation led by US Drug Enforcement Administration agents.
Bout has allegedly supplied weapons that fueled civil wars in South America, the Middle East and Africa, with clients including Liberia's Charles Taylor and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and both sides in Angola's civil war. He has been referred to as "The Merchant of Death," and was an inspiration for the arms dealer played by Nicolas Cage in the 2005 film "Lord of War."
The head of a lucrative air transport empire, Bout had long evaded UN and US sanctions aimed at blocking his financial activities and curbing his travel. He claims he ran a legitimate business and never sold weapons, and fought to avoid extradition.
Russia yesterday called the extradition as "unlawful."
"From a legal point of view what has happened cannot have any rational explanation or justification," said a statement issued in Moscow by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
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