Russia will be able to disprove US arguments against allowing Russian national Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States, to return home when it submits a second request on the matter, Bout's wife told Sputnik on Thursday.
BANGKOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2018) Russia will be able to disprove US arguments against allowing Russian national Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States, to return home when it submits a second request on the matter, Bout's wife told Sputnik on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Russian human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova said she would address the US Department of Justice with a request to allow Russian national Viktor Bout to serve out his sentence in Russia.
"Last time when there was such a request from Russia, the US side refused based on the fact that Viktor allegedly has a criminal past that is linked to organized crime and poses a threat to the United States. It was impossible to argue with this at the time because that was how the refusal was worded, it was final for that attempt. Now, with the new request, these arguments can be immediately disproved Viktor was never in any organized crime groups and he had no 'criminal past,'" Alla Bout said.
Bout's wife stressed that no country other than the United States had any grievances against the Russian national.
She added that a request could be sent to the US Justice Department every two years throughout the duration of a prison sentence.
Alla Bout went on to stress that her husband had been convicted over allegedly conspiring to do something rather than actually doing anything.
"There were no particular acts, and the prosecutors did not even try to challenge him with any particular criminal acts because there weren't any, in fact," she said.
Bout pointed out that Judge Shira Scheindlin said that her husband was a businessman rather than a terrorist and had not been a member of any criminal or terrorist organization. The judge's statement could be attached to the request, Alla Bout said.
She added that hoped the US Justice Department would take into consideration the fact that her husband had already spent 10 years in prison and his health was failing.
Bout was arrested in Bangkok in 2008 in a joint operation between Thai and US authorities on charges of conspiring to kill US nationals by allegedly agreeing to supply Colombian rebels with weapons. In 2010, he was extradited to the United States where he was jailed. Bout has denied all allegations.
