VIKTOR BOUT, IN NEW TRIAL MOVE, SAYS WITNESS COMMITTED PERJURY

                       

Counsel for the convicted ams trafficker, Viktor Bout, in a supplemental filing in support of his Motion for a New Trial, asserts that the statement of a Bulgarian national, who was unavailable to the defense during the trial, and beyond the reach of process, proves that a key government witness committed perjury on the stand. Bout states, in his latest filing that "the Mirchev Declaration constitutes newly discovered evidence, and supplied sufficient basis for a new trial.*"

The other issues argued in the Reply:
(1) The evidence presented, regarding Smulian's role as a Government operative is strong, at at least calls for an Evidentiary Hearing.
(2) While Bout's post-arrest statements may not have been presented to the Grand Jury, the Government's failure to inform the Court of Agent Zachariaisewicz's testimony before the Grand Jury, when seeking a revision of the credibility finding, militates in favor of a New Trial.

The case has generated a large amount of global public interest. Many Russians believe that Bout's case was politically motivated, and they think that he was entrapped by US agents, into agreeing to supply missiles to individuals whom he believed were Colombian terrorists. Whether the ending of Bout's prior relationship with America's intelligence community was a factor has been hotly debated among those who knew of his involvement with both covert, as well as open, operations, in support of US objectives in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
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* Defendant's Corrected Reply to the Government's response to Defendant's Motion for New Trial, based upon newly Discovered Evidence, at 24.