NEW YORK (Sputnik) — On September 2, the UN Security Council amended sanctions against Liberia and removed nearly two dozen individuals from the sanctions list.
"We expect that the most significant issue raised will be the action by the UN Security Council on the 2nd of September, sanctions against Mr. Bout, and the way that those developments affect the conviction of Viktor Bout in these US court proceedings," Tarasov said.
Among the removed names was Viktor Bout, a Russian businessman convicted by the US court in 2011 of conspiracy to provide arms to rebels for the purpose of killing US nationals.
According to Tarasov, the inclusion of Bout’s name in the sanctions list was a heavily used argument by prosecutors during trial, and Bout’s exclusion from the list should be admitted as new evidence and constitute a retrial.
"We contend that it should litigate in favor for reversing the conviction," Tarasov said.
The hearing is scheduled to take place on Monday at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Bout was arrested in Bangkok in 2008 in a joint operation between Thai and US authorities, who accused him of conspiring to kill US soldiers by allegedly agreeing to supply Colombian militants with weapons.
The Russian businessman was extradited to the United States in November 2010 after a protracted legal battle. He is currently held at a medium-security prison in Marion, Illinois.
Bout’s most recent appeal for a review of his case was denied on October 26, 2015.
