Alla Bout, the wife of alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, extradited to the United States from Thailand late last year, has been allowed to see her husband.
"We were allowed this first meeting [since extradition] on Monday, January 24, from noon to 3 p.m.," Alla told RIA Novosti on Wednesday evening. Alla, as well as Bout's daughter Liza and mother Raisa, arrived in New York in early January.
Bout is being held in a New York detention center while he awaits trial in the United States on charges that include conspiring to supply arms to terrorist groups and kill U.S. nationals. He denies all the charges against him.
Alla said the authorities allowed a three-hour meeting even though the standard meeting time is one hour, but added that she was not allowed to take any items, even a pen, with her.
Russia has repeatedly said the United States has been using illegitimate methods towards Bout, including both extradition procedures and treatment in the U.S. jail.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said the United States used unacceptable methods while questioning Bout's wife, who had come to see her husband.
Former Russian army officer Bout was arrested in Thailand in March 2008 during a sting operation led by U.S. agents. He was extradited to the United States in November after spending more than two and half years in Thai prisons.
The extradition process saw both the U.S. and Russian governments exert considerable diplomatic pressure on Thailand.
NEW YORK, January 20 (RIA Novosti)
