U.S. officials attempted to force a confession from Russian alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout during an extradition flight from Thailand to the United States, a senior Russian diplomat said on Thursday.
"According to Viktor Bout, the Americans attempted to convince him to make a confession of the crimes he had never committed, and promised some kind of privileges in return. Bout rejected all these offers," Russia's Consul General in New York Andrei Yushmanov said after a meeting with Bout at a detention facility.
Bout, 43, was extradited to the United States on Tuesday after spending more than two and half years in Thai prisons. He was officially charged in a New York City court on Wednesday. His charges include a conspiracy to supply arms to terrorist groups and a conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals.
Bout pleaded not guilty at the hearing on Wednesday, and he is being kept in a solitary cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York after a federal judge denied him bail.
Yushmanov said Bout was satisfied with his current lawyer appointed by a U.S. court, although he could look for other options in the future.
"We will help him hire a paid lawyer if it becomes necessary," the diplomat said.
The next hearing in the case of the former Russian officer, who was dubbed the Merchant of Death, will be held on January 10 next year.
Bout could face life in prison if convicted on all four charges against him.
NEW YORK, November 18 (RIA Novosti)
