Russian arms dealer Thai court hearings to continue in November

MOSCOW, October 10 (RIA Novosti) - A Thai court will hold its next hearings in the trial of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, accused of conspiracy to sell arms to Colombian left-wing rebels, on November 4-8, a Russian lawyer said on Friday. Bout, 41, was arrested in March in Bangkok during a joint police operation led by agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The second hearing in his case was held on Friday. "The next hearings have been scheduled for November 4 and 8," Bout's Russian lawyer, Yan Dasgupta said, adding that the afternoon proceedings had not brought any concrete results. The defense cross-examined on Friday a witness from Thailand's interior ministry and attempted to prove that Bout was innocent of the charges and his extradition to the U.S. would be illegal. Western law enforcement... [read full story]