The Criminal Court said yesterday that it would ask the foreign ministry to issue a statement about the ongoing trial of Victor Bout, before making a decision on whether the Russian national would be extradited to the US to face charges of conspiring to sell weapons to rebels in Columbia.

Bout was arrested in Thailand last March

"I will invite the foreign ministry to make a statement on this case at the next hearing," the presiding judge said.

It was not clear what kind of input the court is seeking from the foreign ministry, though most reports about the trial point to the political nature of the case.

Foreign Ministry spokesman, Tharit Charungvat, said he was not aware of any requests from court, adding that the ministry had been following the case quite closely.

Speaking to the prosecutor after the hearing was completed yesterday, the presiding judge half-jokingly said he would be denied a visa to either the United States or Russia following the verdict.

"I am in a tough position. Bilateral ties with Russia and the United States could be at stake," the judge said.

Bout's lawyer, Lak Nitiwattana-vicharn, applied for bail, maintaining that his client had no plans to flee the country.

Bout was arrested in Thailand in last March during a sting operation in which undercover US agents posed as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym, FARC.

"Bout is businessman and his wife is a designer. They are not in the businesses as alleged. Victor Bout does not know anybody in Columbia. He has never visited Columbia either," Lak said.

News item courtesy of The Nation Bangkok at www.nationmultimedia.com