VIKTOR BOUT'S RUSSIAN LAWYERS ASSERT THAT UN ACTION CONSTITUTES NEW EVIDENCE IN HIS CASE

Russian lawyers representing convicted arms trafficker, Viktor Bout, have declared that action taken, on September 2, 2015, by the Security Counsel of the United Nations, in ending sanctions related to the arms embargo on Liberia, concerning Charles Taylor, and his associates, qualifies as newly-discovered evidence in Bout's criminal case in the US, justifying a new trial.

A United Nations Security Council Resolution (S/RES/2237) terminated certain sanctions, which Bout's Russian attorneys advise were repeatedly brought up during his trial, seeking to convince the Court that he was a "dangerous criminal."Bout's motion for a new trial is currently pending before the trial court where he  was convicted, and sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment. Bout has often stated that his case is purely political and that he was entrapped by US law enforcement agents.

Russia has attempted to have Bout transferred, to serve out the remainder of his sentence in Russian custody, but those efforts have been unsuccessful to date. Some observers believe that Bout would simply be quietly released upon arrival in Russia, as his case has been cited there as a prime example that the United States is illegally targeting, and imprisoning, Russian nationals, for political reasons.