MOSCOW, November 4 (RIA Novosti) — Convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year term in an American jail on the charges of agreeing to sell weapons to US agents posing as members of Colombia's FARC rebel group, is seeking a retrial after new evidence was allegedly discovered in his case, Reuters said Monday.
According to data obtained by Reuters, the Russian national was granted on Monday a deadline extension that gives his lawyers until January 1 of the next year to formally request a new trial due to "newly discovered evidence." The previous deadline for Bout's seeking a retrial expired on November 2.
It was also reported that Viktor Bout had hired a new defense team from the Ashcroft law firm and Houston-based lawyer Alexey Tarasov to help him obtain a new trial. The deadline was postponed for 60 days in order to give them more time to build his case.
Bout was convicted in 2011 and is currently held at a medium-security prison in Marion, Illinois.
