(Itar-Tass) - Thailand's criminal court turned down the U.S. request not to consider extra charges against Russian citizen Viktor Bout, jugged within the case over illegal arms trade. The court's decision, made on Monday morning, will hamper the U.S. efforts to secure early extradition."Now there's time to prove the partiality and inappropriateness of the charges brought against me, which are also related to my first case," Bout told Itar-Tass, "I have nothing to do either with the Tajik airline or other cases the United States charged me with. My defence and I are ready to prove my innocence."
Bout noted that the situation was "unpredictable," but that "if the case is reviewed under legal norms, it might be possible to win it."
According to Bout, he hopes Thailand's parliament would take into account his address and "set up a special commission to investigate his case, in which there's a wealth of violations and "uncharted areas."
"Hopefully, we'll be able to prove the groundlessness of all the charges against me and be able to win all these cases," the businessman added.