Russian fights extradition in weapons case

BANGKOK

A Russian businessman dubbed the “Merchant of Death” for purportedly arming dictators and guerrillas, sought Monday to prevent his extradition to the U.S., telling a Thai court he was not involved in a scheme to sell weapons to Colombian rebels.

Viktor Bout, a former Soviet air force officer, has long been linked to some of Africa’s most notorious conflicts, purportedly supplying arms to former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

He repeatedly has denied any involvement in illicit activities and has never been prosecuted, despite being the subject of U.N. sanctions and a travel ban.

The U.S. is seeking Mr. Bout’s extradition on charges he conspired to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons, including 100 surface-to-air missiles and armor-piercing rockets to leftist rebels.

The 41-year-old Russian - who was purportedly the model for the arms dealer portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the 2005 movie, “Lord of War” - was arrested in March during a sting operation in which undercover U.S. agents posed as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym, FARC.

The leftist group, which has been fighting Colombia’s government for more than four decades, is listed by the U.S. as a terrorist group.

But on Monday, dressed in an orange prison uniform with shackles around his ankles, Mr. Bout told the court he was set up by the Americans.

“I never met anyone from FARC. I’ve never talked to anyone from FARC,” he told the court. “I didn’t do anything wrong in Thailand.”

U.N. reports have said Mr. Bout parlayed his contacts in the post-Soviet arms industry into a weapons-dealing business, setting up a network of more than 50 aircraft around the world to supply arms that fueled a litany of conflicts, mostly in Africa.

Mr. Bout scoffed at the U.N. allegations on Monday, telling the court that his aviation business only shipped “legal items.”

“The U.N. is not a court,” he said, his voice rising as he waved his hands in the air. “It is a group of countries, and it doesn’t have the capacity to check what I send on my planes.”

The extradition hearing has drawn an unusually vigorous response from Russia, according to Douglas Farah, who wrote the 2007 book on Mr. Bout, “Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible.”

Mr. Farah said the Russian government has run sympathetic stories in government media about Mr. Bout and lobbied senior Thai officials for his release. Two officials from the Russian Embassy in Thailand were in court on Monday.

The Duma, or lower house of the Russian parliament, also has issued a statement calling for him to be returned to Russia. Mr. Farah said the Russian government is concerned that he could reveal details about his dealings with Moscow were he to be put on trial in the United States.

Mr. Bout testified that he came to Bangkok “to relax” and meet with several Thai executives “who wanted to purchase airplanes.”

“I did not commit any terrorist acts,” he said.

Mr. Bout faces charges in the United States of conspiring to kill Americans, conspiring to kill U.S. officers or employees, conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile. He could face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.