The defense of Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence in the United States for arms trafficking, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on February 21. “We argue that the appellate court of the Second Circuit incorrectly applied legal standards and criteria when assessing facts in our motion for a re-trial based on newly discovered evidence,” said Alexey Tarasov, Bout’s lawyer.
The defense contends that the prosecution withheld crucial evidence during the trial, evidence that would amount to Viktor Bout’s complete innocence. According to Tarasov, the only person Bout allegedly conspired with, Briton Andrew Smulian, actually cooperated with the special agents. The DEA agents themselves admitted as much during a documentary filmed in 2014. When such significant facts come to light, the court should review these circumstances as a whole, not piecemeal, as the appellate court did.
Even as the U.S. Supreme Court accepts only about one percent of all cases, Bout’s lawyer is hopeful, believing that the violations in his client’s case warrant the attention of the highest judicial authority.
Bout was detained in Bangkok on March 6, 2008, on charges of illegal arms trafficking, conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens, and material support to a terrorist organization. In 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years for attempting to sell weapons to the Colombian terrorist group FARC, which, according to the prosecution, could have been used against American troops. The negotiations with Bout were led by U.S. undercover agents. In November 2016, the New York Court of Appeal denied the defense’s request to review Bout’s case.
Source: Alisa Lisina, “The Russian America” newspaper, March 15, 2017
