BANGKOK, August 13 (RIA Novosti) - Thai prosecutors who represented Washington during the trial of Viktor Bout intend to appeal the court's refusal to extradite him to the United States, the Russian businessman's Thai lawyer said Thursday.
The lawyer met with prosecutors before the appeal deadline, which was set for August 14 at 08:00 GMT.
Reuters quoted a Thai prosecutor as saying on Thursday: "The court received our intention to appeal today. Now we've got 30 days to formally submit our case."
A Bangkok court on Tuesday turned down a U.S. request for the extradition of the Russian businessman, wanted by Washington on suspicion of illegal arms trafficking.
The court said Thai prosecutors had 72 hours to decide whether to appeal the ruling. The ruling of the appeal court will be final, as Thailand's Supreme Court does not review extradition cases.
Former Russian army officer Bout, 42, was arrested in Thailand in March 2008 during a sting operation led by U.S. agents. The United States has accused Bout of conspiring with others to sell millions of dollars' worth of weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), among other illegal arms deals, and "threatening lives of U.S. citizens."
The businessman, who has spent over a year in a Thai prison, has been facing extradition and trial in the U.S. after Thai authorities earlier announced that they would not press charges.
If convicted in the United States on the terrorism-related charges, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
However, the court said on Tuesday that FARC was not considered a terrorist movement in Thailand, which meant the group was classed as a political faction and Bout's alleged crimes were political offenses, ruling out the possibility of extradition.
The court also said the Thai-U.S. extradition treaty did not apply because Bout's alleged crimes could not be prosecuted in Thailand and did not involve Thai citizens or Thai interests.
Washington expressed disappointment with the Thai court's decision and said it would await a decision from the Thai government before making any further steps in the extradition case.
The ruling in favor of Bout was welcomed by Russia, which has repeatedly said the arrest was made for political reasons and criticized the pressure it said was being applied on Thailand by Washington.
