'Merchant of Death' back in Thai court
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
BANGKOK, Oct 4 (AFP): Alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the so-called "Merchant of Death", arrived at a court in Thailand in a bullet-proof vest Monday for the next legal hurdle in his US extradition case.
Bout, guarded by a team of police commandos, was taken from a high-security Bangkok prison to Thailand's Criminal Court for a hearing that could clear the way for his handover to the United States on terrorism charges.
Asked by reporters at the court whether he thought he would receive a fair trial in the US, the 43-year-old former Soviet air force pilot replied: "No. Of course not."
Bout was expected to be flown out in August on the order of a Thai appeals court, but the process-which has forced Thailand into a delicate position with the United States and Russia-faced a last- minute hold-up.
Bout, guarded by a team of police commandos, was taken from a high-security Bangkok prison to Thailand's Criminal Court for a hearing that could clear the way for his handover to the United States on terrorism charges.
Asked by reporters at the court whether he thought he would receive a fair trial in the US, the 43-year-old former Soviet air force pilot replied: "No. Of course not."
Bout was expected to be flown out in August on the order of a Thai appeals court, but the process-which has forced Thailand into a delicate position with the United States and Russia-faced a last- minute hold-up.