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reply posted on 29-7-2008 @ 03:24 PM by Hellmutt
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Douglas Farah is to testify before Congress on Thursday.
Counterterrorism Blog: Steven Emerson & Douglas Farah to Testify
Before Congress This Week
July 28, 2008
Contributing Experts Steven Emerson and Douglas Farah will testify before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation,
and Trade this Thursday at 10:30 am ET in room 2200 of the Rayburn House Building.
[---]
One of the subjects of the hearing will be whether U.S. relations with Thailand should be tied more closely to the Thai government's decision on the
extradition of Viktor Bout to the U.S. to stand trial for charges alleged in an indictment.
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reply posted on 30-7-2008 @ 10:17 PM by Hellmutt
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August or September 22?
I'm not sure if Viktor Bout's next hearing is on August 22 or September 22. MSM is operating with two different dates and I don't know which of the
dates are correct. Most say September 22. However, I've seen others say August 22. Here's an example. ITAR-TASS says August 22 in the title as well
as in the article...
ITAR-TASS: Bangkok court hearings in Viktor Bout case postponed until Aug
22
 Hearings in a court in Bangkok in the case of Russian businessman Viktor Bout who is suspected of illegal arms trade that had been scheduled for
Monday, have been postponed until August 22. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
Does anyone know which of the dates are the correct one?
edit: fixed broken tag...
[edit on 2008/7/30 by Hellmutt]
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reply posted on 30-7-2008 @ 10:31 PM by Hellmutt
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reply posted on 30-7-2008 @ 10:38 PM by makeitso
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arrgh you beat me to it. Anyway, heres some pics.
The court rescheduled the extradition hearing since his new defense attorney failed to show up.
More Pics
[edit on 7/30/08 by makeitso]
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reply posted on 2-8-2008 @ 06:55 PM by Hellmutt
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RussiaToday says there have been two hearings, but with no results. That's not really true now is it? There have not been two hearings held.
RussiaToday: U.S. offer swap: Aid for ‘Merchant of Death’
August 2, 2008
Two hearings into his extradition have been held, but with no result. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
Why would RussiaToday word it like that?
Thailand Correspondent: Viktor Bout
1 August 2008
His wife, a dowdy petite woman who claimed not to speak English, stood quietly whispering to Russia Today's journalist, who claimed to be a friend of
Bout. Fair and balanced reporting there then.
Thai judges and lawyers spoke among themselves and it was quickly clear there would be no hearing - Bout's new lawyer was unavailable. His previous
lawyer had been sick on the date of an earlier hearing. So we filed out, ready to pounce on the shackled Russian once more as he was led back to his
cell, pencilling September 26th for our next date with international justice.
Aha! They are friends of VB. But here's a different date, Sept 26. Is it Sept 26 or Sept 22?
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reply posted on 29-8-2008 @ 04:06 AM by Hellmutt
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Thai airports are closed. There are rumours of a coup, and there has been lots of riots. Could this be an opportunity for someone to free Viktor?
Thai Airports Closed ( by muddyhoop)
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reply posted on 1-9-2008 @ 05:09 PM by Hellmutt
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Bangkok...
Anti-government protesters and Thai primie minister loyalists
clash
Troops in Thailand have moved to break up clashes between pro and anti-government demonstrators in Bangkok, which have left at least one man
dead.
About 400 soldiers armed with shields and batons are now supporting police near government house, occupied since last week by anit-government
protesters demanding the resignation of the prime minister. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
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reply posted on 1-9-2008 @ 08:04 PM by Hellmutt
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Breaking news: Bangkok under state of emergency
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reply posted on 20-9-2008 @ 02:46 AM by Hellmutt
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Will Viktor Bout be extradited to the US next week? This week, Thailand rejected a US extradition request for Jamshid Ghassemi...
Douglas Farah: Russia Grows Aggressive
in Aiding State Sponsors of Terrorism
Sep 19
It is interesting to note that Russia’s deputy prime minister, Igor Sechin, one of the closest allies of Mr Putin, the Prime Minister, visited
Venezuela and Cuba this week. Sechin is widely reported to be the main backer of Viktor Bout
[---]
(In an ominous sign that Bout’s extradition will not be approved, the Thai appellate court, for the first time this week, rejected a U.S.
extradition request. This one was for Jamshid Ghassemi, an Iranian indicted in the United States for acquiring dual-use equipment and accelerometers
for Iran’s nuclear program. The court ruling gave no reasons for its decision, which is unappealable, and foul play is suspected.
There are several parallels to the Bout case, where the Russians have been offering large financial inducements, oil deals and preferential weapons
deals in exchange for Bout’s freedom.
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reply posted on 22-9-2008 @ 03:07 AM by Hellmutt
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Viktor Bout's extradition hearings opened in Bangkok today.
Alleged arms dealer Bout in Thai court for US extradition case
09-22-2008
A Thai court on Monday opened extradition hearings for alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, which could send the man dubbed the "Merchant of
Death" to the United States to face terrorism charges.
Thailand's criminal court must decide whether there is enough evidence to extradite Bout to the United States, where he could face life in prison for
allegedly funnelling arms to some of the world's bloodiest conflict zones.
Bout did not speak to reporters as he entered the courtroom in shackles, an orange prison-issue outfit and running shoes. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
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reply posted on 8-10-2008 @ 06:29 PM by Hellmutt
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reply posted on 9-10-2008 @ 04:56 PM by Hellmutt
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Next hearing is tomorrow (October 10). Viktor Bout's lawyer says that the US has no chance whatsoever, to get him extradited to the US under Thai
law...
RIA Novosti: Thailand cannot extradite suspected arms dealer to U.S. - lawyer
09/ 10/ 2008
A Russian lawyer for a suspected Russian arms dealer detained in Thailand said the United States has no chance of securing his extradition under Thai
law.
[---]
"As a lawyer I can say with certainty that if the case is reviewed [by Thai court] in line with the law, there is no chance for his extradition
whatsoever," Yan Dasgupta said.
[---]
The next hearing is set for October 10. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
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reply posted on 10-10-2008 @ 03:50 AM by Hellmutt
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He is in court now...
'Merchant of Death' in court
Oct 10, 2008
He looked on as his lawyers cross-examined a witness from Thailand's interior ministry about the legality of his detention and extradition.
'This afternoon, we will continue to question witnesses to prove that Mr Bout is illegally detained,' Thai defence lawyer Chamroen Panompakakorn
said.
[---]
He is accused of being a global gun-runner since the 1990s, and is believed to have supplied arms to the Taliban militia, Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda
terror network and former Liberian leader Charles Taylor. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
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reply posted on 10-10-2008 @ 04:06 AM by Hellmutt
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Why isn't this transmitted live now on every news channel? Does nobody care? The story of the decade apparently goes unnoticed...
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reply posted on 11-10-2008 @ 05:19 AM by khunmoon
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reply to post by Hellmutt
Yes, I wonder too. Diversion is the name of the game.
BTW, thanks for putting my attention on the BKK bomb throwing thread
... which is more mysterious than that. No residues. Thai press speculates on the cause of the serious injuries. Just made my contribution to
serpentine's thread.
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reply posted on 1-11-2008 @ 11:33 AM by Hellmutt
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The Biggest Political Prisoner Of Today
Here's an interesting article on Viktor Bout.
In Flanders Fields: Rise and fall of
Viktor Bout (Denis Van den Weghe)
1 november 2008
Viktor Anatolyevich Bout is without any doubt the biggest political prisoner of today. For the readers among you that have never heard about Mr. Bout
before, I will give you a little introduction in this article.
[---]
In Afghanistan he is known to have delivered goods to both sides of the pre-‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ era. He did similar things in Africa and
in many cases the ‘customers’ knew about it but Viktor was their only reliable delivery man, so with their arms tied behind their back, they
ignored that fact and kept on doing business with him.
[---]
At any time, Viktor Bout owned a fleet of about 60 heavy cargo planes, which had tail number and registration shifted constantly. Over the years, many
people involved in the investigations around him thought that some high-placed persons (mainly in the US and Russia) were keeping their hands above
his head so that he could handle his business without inconvenience.
Nothing new, but some sort of a summary for new readers...
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reply posted on 1-11-2008 @ 11:59 AM by groingrinder
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Is Bout stealing weapons from the former Soviet stockpiles thus guaranteeing a larger profit margin? I also notice that several of the articles said
that Bout was supplying weapons for UN SPONSORED REGIMES. Isn't that good?
Then I have to contrast this with the US weapons trafficking in support of Israel. Our F-16's and tanks have allowed them to terrorize the
Palestinians for decades. They are an occupying force in Palestinian territories slaughtering civilians and destroying homes, farms, and
infrastructure. Where is the outrage over that?
It seems to me that the US does not like competitors in the arms trafficking business. They would like to have a monopoly.
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reply posted on 5-11-2008 @ 09:01 PM by makeitso
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Alleged Russian arms dealer appears in Thai court
Defense attorney Preecha Prasertsak petitioned the court to dismiss the extradition case, arguing that his client had been illegally detained when
he was first arrested.
Prosecutor Sanchai Krungkanjana argued that the first arrest warrant had been dropped because "there was insufficient evidence in Thailand" but
there was enough evidence in the U.S. to approve Bout's extradition and the second warrant.
"We don't see any grounds to prove that it was an illegal detention," Sanchai told The Associated Press after the hearing.
The next hearing is expected on Nov. 18.
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reply posted on 7-11-2008 @ 04:55 PM by Hellmutt
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Seems like Viktor is now also charged with murder...
Lawyer says US trumped up Russian arms dealer
charges
Nov 4
"The US has increased the charges against Bout, alleging he killed a US citizen in Colombia because they know the arrest warrant for arms smuggling
is not enough (to extradite Bout)," he told the court. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
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reply posted on 17-11-2008 @ 10:20 AM by Hellmutt
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An-12 Crashed In Iraq
One of Viktor Bout's planes crashed in Iraq a few days ago.
Freighter crashes in Iraq
17-Nov-2008
The Ukrainian-built An-12 is reported to have been owned by British Gulf International (associated with known gun-runner Viktor Bout) and operated by
a company called Falcon Aviation Group and was carrying FedEx cargo. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
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