Viktor Bout. File photoMOSCOW, June 14The exchange of Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who is serving a prison term in the United States, for one of the Americans convicted in Russia must be approved in the White House, Russian lawyer Steve Zissu told RIA Novosti. «President Biden must approve any exchange. <…> I hope he will do this before Victor's health is irreversibly broken due to the refusal to provide him with medical care, «the defender said. In early June, it became known that Bout's health had deteriorated sharply. Due to the lack of qualified medical care, an unknown infection that began six months ago worsened. During this time, the Russian has never been examined by a specialized doctor, he has never been diagnosed. Zissu's lawyer is preparing a lawsuit against the US Bureau of Prisons for not providing Bout with qualified medical care.
Bout's lawyer believes that he will be exchanged for one or more Americans. Victor Bout was arrested in Thailand at the request of Washington in 2008 as a result of a provocative operation by American intelligence services and taken to the United States. He was accused of preparing a conspiracy to kill Americans and materially support terrorism. Bout denies the allegations on all counts. In Thailand, he won two extradition proceedings in the first instance, but then, at the appeal stage, these decisions of the courts were canceled. While still under the jurisdiction of the Thai court, Bout was taken to the United States with gross violations of both Thai and American laws. In 2012, a jury in New York found the Russian guilty, after which the federal court sentenced him to the minimum sentence under the sane articles — 25 years in prison . The Russian has already served more than half of this term.
