Bout's wife asks Thai premier to protect him from US persecution.

20/9 Tass 136

BANGKOK, September 20 (Itar-Tass) - The wife of the Russian
businessman passed an open letter over to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit
Vejjajiva asking to protect her husband Viktor Bout from U.S. persecution.
The text of the appeal, together with the two attachments composed by
lawyers and experts, were handed over to the Itar-Tass office on Monday.
Alla Bout thanked the Thai government and Prime Minister Vejjajiva for
"defending the businessman's rights to legitimate procedure" and
preventing his extradition to the USA under a simplified procedure, "which
is outside the legal field."
She also expressed the hope that the prime minister and the Cabinet
would take an unbiased view of the situation around Bout and that they
"will not allow propaganda tricks and open pressure on the part of the
United States to influence the decisions you're making."
She expressed confidence that the Russian businessman had become "a
victim of an information war, whose ultimate objective is to discredit
Russia."
"We're convinced that the U.S. accusations have the nature of a
political persecution. During a decade of information war, the United
States has failed to present any evidence of the crimes allegedly
committed by my husband either to the Russian Justice or to the Thai
court," Alla Bout said.
-0-myz/kud