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Bout's wife says will fight to prove husband's innocence

© Photo : Dmitriy KhalezovBout's wife says will fight to prove husband's innocence
Bout's wife says will fight to prove husband's innocence - Sputnik International
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The wife of alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was extradited to the United States after spending more than two and half years in Thai prisons, said on Wednesday she would continue to struggle to prove her husband's innocence.

The wife of alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was extradited to the United States after spending more than two and half years in Thai prisons, said on Wednesday she would continue to struggle to prove her husband's innocence.

"Viktor is not guilty, and I will support him and continue doing my best to release him. Justice should be served in this case, and I will fight for it, either here in Thailand or in the United States," Alla Bout said, adding she was going to leave for New York once she gets a U.S. visa.

Bout, who was arrested in Thailand in March 2008 during a sting operation led by U.S. agents, was extradited from Thailand to the United States on Tuesday and has been taken to a temporary detention center adjacent to New York's Southern District Federal Court.

According to a U.S. law enforcement source, the suspected arms dealer is expected to face trial later in the day. The United States accuses Bout of conspiring with others to sell millions of dollars' worth of weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), among other illegal arms deals. Bout denies all the charges.

Alla Bout said the extradition of her husband, which the Russian Foreign Ministry has already called "illegal," was a surprise for her.

"It was for all intents and purposes a kidnapping. On the eve of [Bout's extradition], the lawyer told me there are no legal grounds for the extradition because Viktor is also involved in another case on a second set of charges brought by the United States," she said.

"I could never imagine that the Thai government would spit on their own laws and quietly, thievishly give Viktor to the United States," Bout's wife said.

The Bangkok Post newspaper quoted Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as saying the country's authorities "acted in strict compliance with the law" while extraditing Bout.

Neither Thai nor U.S. officials have informed the Russian embassy in Thailand about Bout's extradition.

BANGKOK, November 17 (RIA Novosti) 

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