Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Thai court clears way for Viktor Bout extradition

AP – Suspected Russian arms smuggler
Viktor Bout,
center, is led by armed
Thai police commandoes as he arrives
Background on Viktor Bout
Viktor Anatolyevich Bout (Russian: Виктор Анатольевич Бут) (born 13 January 1967, near Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union) established a number of air cargo companies and is famous for being a suspected arms dealer.
A former Soviet military translator Bout made a significant amount of money through his many air transport companies, shipping cargo mostly in Africa and the Middle East during the 1990s and early 2000s.[citation needed] Just as willing to ship cargo for Charles Taylor in Liberia as he was for the United Nations in Sudan and the United States in Iraq, Bout may have facilitated huge arms shipments into various civil wars in Africa with his private air cargo fleets during the 1990s.
While claiming to have done little more than provide logistics, he has been called a "sanctions buster" by former British Foreign Office minister Peter Hain who described Bout as "the principal conduit for planes and supply routes that take arms... from east Europe, principally Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine to Liberia and Angola."
In cooperation with US authorities, Royal Thai Police arrested Bout in Bangkok, Thailand in 2008. The US wanted him extradited, and while the first attempt failed, a second try was successful. Bout will now face charges in a US court.
He has expressed confidence this will lead to his exoneration.

Source: Yahoo News

By KINAN SUCHAOVANICH, Associated Press Writer Kinan Suchaovanich, Associated Press Writer

BANGKOK – An alleged Russian arms smuggler dubbed "The Merchant of Death" was led off by masked commandos after a Thai court Tuesday removed a key legal obstacle to his U.S. extradition, which has landed Thailand in the midst of a diplomatic tussle between Washington and Moscow.

Viktor Bout, who allegedly supplied weapons that fueled civil wars in South America, the Middle East and Africa, has been fighting extradition since his March 2008 arrest in Bangkok as part of a U.S.-led sting operation.

The Bangkok Criminal Court on Tuesday dismissed a new trial against Bout, which had threatened to stall the extradition further. It was the latest phase — and a potential turning point — in a long-running legal battle. Both Washington and Moscow have been demanding Bout's hand-over.

The announcement of the ruling stunned the normally stoic Bout, who was standing to hear the verdict but then sat and hugged his wife, who was seated beside him and began to weep. He then waded through the courtroom to his defense lawyer and with a look of concern said: "(Do) something now. The appeal. We need to appeal."

Court officials told reporters that the defense was not allowed to appeal. Only prosecutors who filed the charges of money laundering and wire fraud on behalf of the U.S. have the right to appeal within 72 hours, after which time Bout could be extradited. Prosecutors were not expected to appeal.

One possible twist: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has said once the court process is finished he will have the final say in Bout's extradition.

Asked by reporters how he felt, Bout replied: "I don't know. I don't know what to say."

Shackled at the ankles, Bout was escorted in and out of the courtroom by masked commandos. He wore a bulletproof vest for his journey to and from prison. The vest was removed inside the courtroom.

A Thai Appeals Court gave its approval Aug. 20 for Bout's extradition to the U.S. to face trial on four terrorism-related charges that could land him in prison for life. That ruling reversed a lower court's decision.

But the process was stalled because, after the lower court rejected the request, Washington had filed a second set of charges to ensure Bout wasn't set free. Working with Thai prosecutors, the U.S. then tried to drop those charges after the Appeal Court's ruling, but the Bangkok Criminal Court said Monday the legal proceedings had already started and must be allowed to continue.

But in another twist in the case, the Criminal Court on Tuesday ruled to dismiss the second set of charges, saying there was no further legal reason to keep Bout from being extradited.

The apparent reversal from Monday to Tuesday appeared to be the court's way of saying it would not be pressured into prematurely dropping the second case before its first hearing.

It ruled that there was "a lack of evidence and witnesses" to prove the charges of money laundering and wire fraud, and would so dismiss the case unless the prosecution appealed.

When the Appeals Court cleared the way for Bout's extradition in August, it said the extradition must take place within 90 days, or roughly by Nov. 20.

A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Bangkok could not immediately be reached for comment.

Russia says Bout is an innocent businessman and has demanded his return. Experts say Bout, a former Soviet air force officer, has knowledge of Russia's military and intelligence operations and that Moscow does not want him going on trial in the United States.

Bout's high-profile arrest at a Bangkok luxury hotel in March 2008 was part of an elaborate sting in which U.S. agents posed as arms buyers for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which Washington classifies as a terrorist organization.

The head of a lucrative air transport empire, Bout long evaded U.N. and U.S. sanctions aimed at blocking his financial activities and restricting his travel. He has denied any involvement in illicit activities and said he ran a legitimate business.

In 2000, a high-ranking minister at Britain's Foreign office called Bout, who flouted U.N. arms embargoes on the warring parties in Angola and Sierra Leone, "a merchant of death."

Bout also reportedly supplied arms to warring parties in Afghanistan before the 2001 fall of the Taliban's Islamic regime.

The 2005 movie "Lord of War" starring Nicolas Cage is loosely based on Bout's life.

___
Associated Press Writer Jocelyn Gecker contributed to this report.

News Headline

Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah

Everyone is a genius

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein

Drawing the line in Liberia

Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah



Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause

They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.

If Liberia must move forward ...

If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's greatest problem!

While it is true that an individual may be held responsible for corruption and mismanagement of funds in government, the lack of proper system to work with may as well impede the process of ethical, managerial, and financial accountability - Bernard Gbayee Goah

What do I think should be done?

The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Solving problems in the absence of war talks

As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truthBernard Gbayee Goah

DISCLAIMER

Statements and opinions expressed in articles, reviews and other materials herein are those of the authors. While every care has been taken in the compilation of information on this website/blog, and every attempt made to present up-to-date and accurate information, I cannot guarantee that inaccuracies will not occur. Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah will not be held responsible for any claim, loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any information within these pages or any information accessed through this website/blog. The content of any organizations websites which you link to from this website/blog are entirely out of the control of Inside Liberia With Bernard Gbayee Goah, and you proceed at your own risk. These links are provided purely for your convenience. They do not imply Inside Liberia With Bernard Gbayee Goah's endorsement of or association with any products, services, content, information or materials offered by or accessible to you at said organizations site.