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Bout’s Lawyer Seeks to Postpone Appeal Deadline

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A lawyer of convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was sentenced to 25 years in jail by a U.S. court in April, is seeking to postpone the deadline for appealing against the ruling for three months.

A lawyer of convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was sentenced to 25 years in jail by a U.S. court in April, is seeking to postpone the deadline for appealing against the ruling for three months.

“I motivate my request by the high volume of materials in the case, as well as by difficulties in communicating with my defendant – he is in Illinois, and our contacts are limited by the regime of the [prison] facility. In such conditions, it is impossible to file an appeal by the November 1 deadline,” Albert Dayan told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

He said he was seeking the deadline to be postponed until February 1, 2013.

“I have already received a reply from prosecutors that they have no objection to extending the time to appeal,” the lawyer said.

A former Soviet military officer, Bout has been found guilty of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, including military officers and employees, conspiring to use anti-aircraft missiles, and selling millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Colombian rebel group FARC.

The businessman has continually denied the charges against him. He is serving his 25-year prison term in the medium-security United States Penitentiary, Marion (USP Marion) in Illinois.

Dayan told RIA Novosti he felt “optimistic” about an appeals process.

“Professional judges, unlike the jury, will consider the case from the legal, not emotional, point of view,” he said.

Bout was convicted by a jury at a court in Manhattan in November 2011.

Attorney General Eric Holder has said the United States may consider Bout’s extradition to Russia if it receives a request from the Russian authorities.

 

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