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US wants Viktor Bout
[Straits Times] THE United States pressed Thailand on Thursday to hand over alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, ahead of a final Thai ruling on the US extradition request for the so-called 'Merchant of Death'.The US State Department called in Thai Ambassador Don Pramudwinai this week 'to emphasise that this is of the highest priority of the United States', department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters. 'We believe that we've presented significant evidence to justify his extradition to the United States,' said Mr Crowley, adding: 'We think we've made our case, and we'll see what the judgment of the court is.' US lawmakers, meanwhile, urged the ambassador to let authorities in Bangkok know that rejecting the request would harm ties with Washington and said the kingdom's judiciary handling of the case had not been 'fair and transparent.' The lawmakers complained that they had only learned through Bout's lawyer and the media that a Thai appeals court would decide on Friday whether to send the accused arms trafficker to the United States to face terrorism charges. 'We find the potential release of a man responsible for countless deaths of innocents in Africa and elsewhere simply astounding,' said the group, led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman, a Democrat. 'More so as there is little doubt that he would return to his deadly trade, arming those targeting US and Thai interests around the globe,' they said in a letter delivered to the Thai embassy on Wednesday. Republican Representative Ed Royce's office released the letter, which was also signed by Democratic Senator Russell Feingold and Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the top Republican on Berman's committee. Bout, said to have inspired the Hollywood film Lord Of War starring Nicolas Cage, has been fighting extradition since his March 2008 arrest in Bangkok on charges of peddling weapons around the world, including to Al-Qaeda. Posted by: Fred 2010-08-20 |
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