Translated material
Extremist tourism
The Russian businessman Viktor But, arrested in Thailand, claims to come to Bangkok as a tourist. According to Reuters, such a statement was made by the Thai police. Bout denies the accusations of "raising funds for terrorism", said police colonel Kittisak Sukhavattanakul.
"He (Bout) said that he came here as a tourist, but did not inform where he planned to be," the policeman said.
According to AFP, the Thai court decided to leave Buta in prison for further interrogations. His transfer to Bout to prison in a maximum security regime of Klongprem.
The day before, it became known that the local police suspect Buta in connection with Thai terrorist groups. If Buta is judged in Thailand, he can receive up to 10 years in prison, and only after that can be extradited to Russia or the USA.
But, a suspected of illegal weapons trade, was arrested on Thursday in Thailand at the request of the United States as a result of a joint operation of a number of countries with the assistance of Interpol.
The US administration in 2006 imposed sanctions against Button, whom Washington calls one of the largest weapons. In 2005, the United States froze assets and transferred information about 30 firms related to a businessman to the UN Committee on sanctions. The US Treasury said that Bout has a network of aircraft transport enterprises based in various countries in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and the USA. It is believed that the weapon sold by Bout or during its mediation served to incite conflicts and supported the regimes against which the UN sanctions were imposed in Afghanistan, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Rwande, Sierra-Leone and Sudan.
But in an interview with the Russian media himself, he previously categorically refuted accusations of involvement in illegal weapons. The defense of Buta insists that he was not engaged in the supply of weapons to rebels from the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia fighting against the government. In addition, lawyers intend to seek his extradition to Russia.