MOSCOW. Jan 17 (Interfax) - Russian citizen Viktor Bout, who was convicted in the United States, cannot be transferred to Russia to serve his term there due to differences in the two countries' legislations, Bout's lawyer Alexei Binetsky told a press conference in the Interfax central office on Friday.
"Unfortunately, Bout's transfer is impossible now. We have no such crime in the Criminal Code, we can only exchange people who have committed crimes if it's a crime in the country from which the person was naturalized," Binetsky said.
Binetsky said he would be happy if the Russian criminal justice system "took such a step and created a precedent by including an article enshrining punishment 'for intentions to commit criminal actions' in the Criminal Code." "Then we could request that Mr. Bout to be transferred to Russia to serve his term," the lawyer said.
Bout's defense lawyers are now working on the issue of changing his living conditions in prison.
"He is currently kept in the same conditions as dangerous criminals. He has a problem with the food because he is a vegetarian and there is not the right food for him on the prison menu. In several weeks, we will begin active work on changing Bout's living conditions," he said.