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Thai court dismisses case against Russian "Merchant of Death"
Aug 11, 2009, 9:12 GMT
Bangkok - A Thai court Tuesday dismissed a case against Russian national Viktor Bout, an alleged gun-runner dubbed the 'Merchant of Death,' allowing the prosecution 72 hours to appeal the verdict.
'If the prosecution doesn't appeal within 72 hours, then Viktor Bout is free,' judge Kittakorn Phattanasiri said.
Bout was arrested at a Bangkok hotel in March 2008 in a joint US-Thai sting operation that caught the Russian negotiating a deal to sell arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Although prosecutors failed to prove Bout had committed a crime in Thailand, they filed a case against him seeking his extradition to the US, where there is a warrant for Bout's arrest on armaments trafficking charges.
But Bangkok Criminal Court ruled that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence to justify Bout's extradition.
Judges noted that the Thai Foreign Ministry does not classify FARC as either a terrorist or an international criminal organization.
Both the US and Russian governments have been exerting pressure on Thailand in the Bout case, with Washington urging his extradition and Moscow demanding his return home.
Bout's colourful career provided the gist for the 2005 Hollywood film Lord of War, starring Nicholas Cage.
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