'Merchant of Death' to stand trial in US

An alleged arms dealer nicknamed "The Merchant of Death", who has been pursued by global law enforcement organisations for years, is to be extradited to the United States to stand trial.

The news comes amid allegations authorities in Thailand succumbed to pressure from Washington.

A court in Bangkok ruled Viktor Bout, a Russian who prosecutors say sold guns to dictators and militants in war zones across Africa, South America and the Middle East, should be sent to the US to face charges that he tried to sell arms to outlawed Colombian rebels.

Wearing leg irons and an orange prison jumpsuit, the 43-year-old Russian, whose exploits have inspired Hollywood movies, vowed to prove his innocence.

"We will face the trial in the US and win it," he said. Hugging his wife and fighting back tears, he was led from the courtroom. His wife Alla declared: "This is the most unfair decision possible."

The drama over the extradition of a man suspected of selling arms to everyone from Liberia's Charles Taylor to Colonel Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, has been overshadowed by a row between the US and Russia.

While the US wanted the former Russian military translator to be sent to America for trial, Moscow urged he be released from the maximum security prison he has been held in for two years and allowed to return to Russia.

Bout, said to be the inspiration behind the 2005 film Lord of War, starring Nicolas Cage, has been held in Thailand since he was arrested in a joint US-Thai sting operation in which agents posed as arms buyers for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).

Underlining the US' determination that he be sent for trial, the State Department last week summoned the Thai Ambassador in Washington to "emphasise how important this judgment is". Thailand receives millions of dollars in aid from Washington.

Russia described the Thai court judgment as unlawful and political. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, said the decision to overturn a lower court's decision that had rejected extradition "was made under very strong pressure".

Though he has always denied the claim, Bout is widely considered one of the world's most prolific arms dealers, selling to both governments and rebels - and sometimes supplying arms to both participants in a conflict at the same time.

The head of a lucrative air transport empire, he has long evaded efforts by the US and UN to freeze his assets and stop him travelling. He has always insisted he runs a legitimate business.

The full circumstances of Bout's arrest in 2008 in Thailand - he was seized in a luxury Bangkok hotel - remain unclear.

He had allegedly offered to sell Farc more than 700 surface-to-air missiles, thousands of guns, high-tech helicopters and aeroplanes fitted with grenade launchers and missiles.

But other witnesses told the court Bout had been in Thailand in connection with a project involving a Russian submarine.

The New York Times reported Thai officials said he was part of a deal to provide Thailand with a small but sophisticated nuclear submarine.

When this hearing began, Bout's lawyer submitted a list of witnesses that included advisers to Thailand's royal family and also presented copies of speeches in which members of the royal family called for closer military co-operation with Russia.

- INDEPENDENT