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Moscow still sees no progress in Viktor Bout case

Bout is still held in a solitary cell of the prison unit, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s commissioner for human rights

© AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko

MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/. Moscow does not see any progress on the case of Russian national Viktor Bout serving his term in a U.S. prison, the United States refuses to soften the custodial regime for the Russian, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s commissioner for human rights, democracy and rule of law said Wednesday.

"We see no progress on the case of Viktor Bout," Konstantin Dolgov told TASS. "He is still held in a solitary cell of the prison unit, where control of his communication with the outside world is exercised."

"After regular hearings in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons on Viktor Bout’s transfer to the general regime of serving his sentence, restrictions on his contacts with third persons, including relatives, and acquisition of information remain in force," Dolgov said.

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"We state that there is no proper food ration in prison, taking into account that Viktor Bout is a vegetarian," he said.

According to Dolgov, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, when the prison Bout is held in requests softening the custodial regime for him, "constantly rejects the requests, saying Bout is allegedly a dangerous criminal."

"In our view, this looks ridiculous taking into account the position of Judge Shira Scheindlin, who earlier said her sentence to Viktor Bout is disproportionate regarding the guilt of the convict," he said. "Besides, it should not be forgotten that he was excluded from the international sanctions list."

Bout was detained in 2008 in the capital of Thailand, Bangkok, on a warrant issued by a local court on a request from the United States. He was sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in prison in the United States for alleged illegal arms supplies.

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