Authorities at the US prison where Russian national Viktor Bout is currently serving a 25-year sentence denied him additional meeting days beyond the one day a week he is allowed to see his family, Bout's spouse, Alla, told Sputnik on Thursday, adding that she and her daughter were to soon travel to the United States for a brief visit
BANGKOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2019) Authorities at the US prison where Russian national Viktor Bout is currently serving a 25-year sentence denied him additional meeting days beyond the one day a week he is allowed to see his family, Bout's spouse, Alla, told Sputnik on Thursday, adding that she and her daughter were to soon travel to the United States for a brief visit.Bout was arrested in Bangkok on March 6, 2008, and extradited to the United States in 2010 on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization and kill US nationals. His family has not seen him since 2012.
"We really counted on [being granted] additional meeting days beyond the weekly one, which is mandatory to be scheduled for either Saturday or Sunday. We submitted an appeal and the Russian Embassy in the United States contacted the prison authorities. Yesterday, two weeks before me and my daughter are supposed to arrive in the United States, Viktor was told that the appeal had been denied," Alla Bout said.
The woman said her husband was extremely upset about the news.
"It would not have been a catastrophe if we were to stay [in the United States] for a longer time. But we were granted US visas for only two months. Moreover, we will not be able to stay even those two full months because we will simply run short of money with the US prices on accommodation and transport," she added.
According to Alla Bout, a prison officer advised her husband to submit an appeal to the Department of State and said that their requests are usually observed in the prison. The Bout family now considers asking the Russian Foreign Ministry � this time to contact the US State Department about the possibility for Viktor to be granted additional meeting days in prison.
Bout was arrested in Thailand at the request of the United States over a suspected intention to sell weapons to people who he believed were members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), designated terrorists by Washington, and kill US citizens. The United States requested his extradition, while Bout denied all accusations. In 2009, a Thai court ruled in his favor, saying the case was of a political rather than criminal nature, but a higher instance court later decided to extradite him. In New York, he was sentenced to the minimum term established for the crimes he is accused of committing.
