Translated material
America's Enemy
Viktor Bout appeared in court in New York
Russian businessman Viktor But, extradited from Thailand to the United States on Tuesday, appeared yesterday in federal court for the Southern District of New York. During the hearing, he was formally charged with conspiracy to murder, illegal arms trafficking and aiding terrorist groups, and his arrest was announced.The Russian himself rejected all the charges brought against him, saying that he never sold weapons and had no contacts with terrorists. However, his former companion Andrew Smulyan is ready to testify against him, with whom, according to investigators, they tried to sell a large shipment of weapons to Colombian rebels. Considering that the American authorities have other evidence of the Russian’s guilt, it is not difficult to assume that it will not be easy to achieve an acquittal for him.
The court hearings in the case of Viktor Bout began at approximately 13.30 local time (21.30 Moscow time). At the beginning of the hearing, Judge Shira Sheindlin formally charged him, to which the defendant stated that he did not admit guilt. The interests of the businessman were represented by state lawyer Sabrina Shroff by court decision. “Due to the fact that it is impossible to establish exactly the financial status of the accused, a free lawyer is assigned to him,” the judge said. She ruled that the trial of the businessman would begin on January 10, 2011. The defendant's lawyer said that Booth will be in prison until the trial begins, but the defense is going to petition for his release on bail.
An hour and a half earlier, the prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, announced at a special press conference that the authorities were charging the Russian businessman with four counts. “The first is a criminal conspiracy to murder US citizens, the second is a criminal conspiracy to murder public officials, the third is a criminal conspiracy in the acquisition and sale of air defense missiles, and the fourth is a conspiracy to supply weapons.” terrorist groups. For these crimes, Bout faces 25 years to life in prison,” the prosecutor said, noting that Mr. Bout’s extradition to the United States is proof that “no one is beyond the reach of the law.” He also noted that the second person involved in this case, the former partner of businessman Andrew Smulyan, who was charged with weapons smuggling, began to cooperate with the investigation, fully admitting his guilt.
Russian diplomats who tried to get a meeting with the businessman before the start of the trial were unable to do so. “We received permission to hold a consular meeting, but, unfortunately, we have not yet been able to contact Viktor Bout. By the time representatives of the Consulate General arrived at the prison building, Bout had already been taken to the federal court building, said Andrei Yushmanov, the Russian Consul General in New York. “We will definitely hold a meeting with the Russian citizen, which will take place in the afternoon, after the end of the hearing.”
Viktor Bout was arrested in Bangkok on March 6, 2008 at the request of the US prosecutor's office, which accused him of trying to organize large shipments of weapons to Colombian rebels from the FARC movement. A few days later, his alleged accomplice, a native of the former USSR with a British passport, Andrew Smulyan, was arrested in New York. According to investigators, agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the guise of Colombian rebels, in January 2008 offered Mr. Smulyan, a longtime friend and partner of Mr. Bout, to supply them with shipments of anti-aircraft missiles, machine guns and explosives. During the discussion of the details of the deal, Mr. Booth himself joined the negotiations, agreeing to personally meet with potential clients on March 6 in Bangkok. During this meeting he was detained.
In August 2009, the Thai arbitration court refused to extradite Viktor Bout to the United States, but the American side appealed the verdict. On August 20, 2010, the appeal court overturned the previous decision and decided to extradite the Russian within three months, but due to bureaucratic delays, his sending to the United States was in jeopardy. Ultimately, the Thai government decided to extradite the businessman on Tuesday, just three days before a court-imposed extradition deadline. A few hours later, he flew to New York under heavy security. Neither Mr. Bout's wife, nor his lawyer, nor the Russian diplomats working in Bangkok knew anything about the impending extradition and were outraged by the decision of the Thai authorities.
Mr Booth was flown into the US late on Tuesday. A small private plane chartered by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) landed at Stewart Air Force Base, 100 kilometers from New York. Immediately after this, he was taken to a detention center in Manhattan. The federal courthouse for the Southern District of New York is located in the same building complex.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr. Bharara said the prosecution's evidence consists of witness statements, audio recordings of telephone conversations, copies of emails and other documents. According to investigators, when selling weapons, the defendant understood perfectly well that they would be used to fight against US citizens. We are primarily talking about employees of American intelligence services, including the same DEA, who actively help the authorities of Colombia and other South American countries in the fight against rebels and drug cartels, which often act in concert. The prosecutor also said that initially the investigation was conducted as part of the anti-drug fight (which is why DEA agents carried out the operation to capture him), but then it escalated into a case of arms supplies to the FARC. “Victor Bout, without hesitation, began supplying an arsenal of weapons to narco-terrorists to kill US citizens. That is why America is his enemy. The defendants sold so many weapons to terrorist organizations that they would have been more than enough to arm the army of a small state,” Mr. Bharara noted.