(Arms dealer) Victor Butte is "coming home" says the Russian side after his exchange with American basketball player Britney Griner.
"Russian national Victor Butte, who was serving a prison sentence in the US for arms trafficking, has returned to Russia as a result of an agreement with the US on his exchange with American basketball player Britney Greiner, who was found guilty in Russia of drug smuggling," the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Thursday.
"As a result of the efforts made, we managed to agree with the American side to arrange the exchange of Victor Butte for Britney Greiner. The Russian citizen has returned to the motherland," the Foreign Ministry said."
The Kremlin had been calling for Butte's release since he was first arrested in Thailand in 2008 at the request of the US."
Zakharova: "Unbelievable!"
Russian joy at the release of the arms dealer was expressed via Telegram by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
"Unbelievable! We receive messages written by people from Russia and abroad, congratulating us and rejoicing over the release of Viktor Butte. They do not know him personally, they have never seen him. But they are as worried as they are about their loved one! Thank the country."
Who is Victor Butte
Butte, now 55, was imprisoned for 12 years in an Illinois federal prison[/B] in the United States.
Dubbed by the British "merchant of death", he joined the Soviet Armed Forces shortly before its collapse and managed to learn at least six languages, including Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Persian and Russian. He served as a translator and held the rank of lieutenant during his time in the military, according to his website. He is believed to have been discharged from the army around the time of the fall of the USSR.
He then started his business in air transport, in which he delivered people and goods on behalf of foreign governments. U.S. officials claim that he transported weapons to conflict zones around the world, including bloody hot spots like Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.
Boot gained recognition among his clients for his ability to transport illegal weapons to war-torn areas of Africa in violation of UN embargoes, according to the Economist. A former administration once described him as "the Donald Trump or Bill Gates" of arms smuggling, according to a 2002 Los Angeles Times profile of him.
He was arrested in 2008 at a Bangkok hotel in Thailand after U.S. agents recorded him offering to sell missiles to people he believed were leftist Colombian rebels.
Authorities accused him of providing "material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization" and noted that he was suspected of arming the Taliban and al-Qaeda in a press release about his arrest. Butte flatly denied arming either organization, CNN reported.
After his arrest, he was extradited to the U.S. despite strong protests from the Russian government. He was subsequently tried and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012 on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens, distributing anti-aircraft missiles and aiding terrorist organizations. An appeals court subsequently upheld his conviction.
Moscow has always proclaimed his innocence, calling his case a "blatant injustice", and seeking to secure his release.
Source: skai.gr
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