Russian pleads not guilty to weapons-sale charges
NEW YORK - A former Soviet military officer dubbed the "Merchant of Death" for allegedly selling an arsenal of weapons that would be "the envy of some small countries" was in the United States on Wednesday to face justice, a prosecutor announced, refusing to address the possibility that the extradition had chilled U.S.-Russian relations.
NEW YORK - A former Soviet military officer dubbed the "Merchant of Death" for allegedly selling an arsenal of weapons that would be "the envy of some small countries" was in the United States on Wednesday to face justice, a prosecutor announced, refusing to address the possibility that the extradition had chilled U.S.-Russian relations.
Viktor Bout, 43, pleaded not guilty at an eight-minute initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where his court-appointed attorney, Sabrina Shroff, said that he consented to being held without bail until his next court appearance, set for Jan. 10.
At a news conference, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara repeatedly responded to questions about relations between the United States and Russia by saying Viktor Bout was brought to this country after prosecutors successfully sought an indictment and an extradition based on evidence collected during a long-running Drug Enforcement Administration probe.
"The so-called Merchant of Death is now a federal inmate," Bharara said after Bout was flown from Thailand to a suburban New York airport Tuesday to face charges that he offered to sell millions of dollars of weapons to an extremist group that wanted to kill Americans. "No one should ever think he can plot to kill Americans with impunity."
He praised the DEA for "courageous and groundbreaking work," along with the agency's partners in Curacao, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Bucharest, Romania.
The Russian Foreign Ministry had said Thailand's decision to extradite him was "unlawful," purely political, and resulted from U.S. pressure. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in remarks broadcast on Russian television Tuesday that the Thai government's decision was "an example of glaring injustice."
Russian Consul General Audrey Yushmanov and Vice Consul Alexander Otchainov arrived at the Metropolitan Correctional Center after the hearing to visit Bout. Yushmanov said they were there to make sure he gets his full legal rights and to show "consul support of our citizen."
For several months, U.S. and Russian officials had fought for control of Bout, flexing muscles in a manner that seemed to threaten cooperation on arms control, nuclear-weapons curbs, and the war in Afghanistan.
