Court drops 2nd case against Bout, clears obstacle to extradition

BANGKOK, October 5 (Itar-Tass) - Thailand's criminal court has dropped
the second criminal case against Russian citizen Viktor Bout removing the
legal obstacles to his extradition to the USA.
His lawyers intend to appeal the court's ruling to stall the
proceedings. According to Bout's representatives and his lawyer Lak
Nittiwattanawichan, "under our legal norms, we have three days to appeal
the decision."
In his opinion, the situation is unpredictable, as there are three
days for deciding on whether or not to appeal, because Bout no longer has
the status of the person under investigation.
Therefore, the extradition proceedings within the first case against
Bout might be launched now, although the lawyers intend to stall the
procedure for as long as they can.
Viktor Bout has left the courtroom and is to be brought back to the
Bang Kwan prison.
He was detained in Bangkok in March 2008, on U.S. extradition request.
The USA accuses the Russian businessman of illegal arms trade and other
crimes, such as the criminal collusion to supply arms to Colombia's
militants with the understanding that the weapons will be used to kill
U.S. officials and citizens.
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