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Russian alleged arms dealer not to be extradited to U.S. until October 4

RIA Novosti

14:34 01/09/2010 BANGKOK, September 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russian suspected arms trader Viktor Bout will not be extradited to the United States until a hearing of the U.S. request to drop a second set of charges against him on October 4, Bout's Thai lawyer Lac Nitiwat Wichan said on Wednesday.

The Thai Prosecutor General's Office received a formal request from the U.S. on Tuesday to drop a second set of charges against Bout.

"Yesterday the Thai Foreign Ministry forwarded the American request to recall the second set of extradition papers to the prosecutor general's office, and today the prosecutor general's office representing the American interests in the case has forwarded them to a court," the lawyer said, adding that the court scheduled the hearing on October 4. "The extradition cannot take place until this date," he said.

"During the hearing, a judge has to ask the American side whether it confirms its intention to recall the papers," Bout's lawyer said. "Then the court will ask the defense whether it agrees with the recall of the papers," he continued. "If we express an objection, the court will make a final decision," he added. "The extradition of my defendant is impossible without this procedure."

Bout, 44, was arrested in March 2008 at the request of the United States. His extradition to the United States was ordered by the Thai appeals court on August 20. Bout claims he has never been involved in the arms trade and that there was no evidence of his involvement in the business.

On February 17, the United States brought new charges against Bout, accusing him of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the U.S. federal law that prohibits the export of goods, technologies or services that pose an "unusual and extraordinary threat... to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States."

The charges were passed over to the Thai criminal court two hours before the appeals court reached its verdict on the 2008 accusations. In accordance with Thai law, Bout cannot be extradited to the United States until the second charges are brought to court.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the Thai court's decision politically motivated, and suggested it was made to please Washington. He said Moscow would seek Bout's repatriation.