Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout will be tried in a US court in New York starting next week on charges he illegally sold weapons and conspired to kill US nationals, it was announced Monday, DPA reported.
Bout, dubbed the Merchant of Death, was extradited from Thailand to the US in November after spending two years in Thai jails. The trial at a US court in Manhattan will begin Tuesday.
Human rights and civil organizations have said Bout trafficked weapons with some governments or groups that were responsible for human rights violations and civilian deaths around the world. Bout allegedly provided weapons to Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) rebels in Colombia.
Oxfam International noted that trying Bout could be a challenge because illicit international arms dealers have been able to exploit regulatory gaps in the lucrative global arms trade. There is currently no global arms trade treaty and UN efforts to work out one have so far failed because of opposition from countries that are major weapons exporters.
Bout was captured in Thailand in March 2008 in a sting operation led by the US Drug Enforcement Agency. The Russian government protested his extradition, calling it politically motivated.
Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to go on trial in New York
Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout will be tried in a US court in New York starting next week on charges he illegally sold weapons and conspired to kill US nationals, it was announced Monday.
