Released Russian arms dealer Bout joins ultranationalist party
2 years, 3 months ago

Released Russian arms dealer Bout joins ultranationalist party

Al Jazeera  

Viktor Bout was freed last week from a 25-year US prison sentence in swap for basketball star Brittney Griner. Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was freed last week from US custody in a prisoner swap for American basketball star Brittney Griner, has joined the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party, according to the party’s leader, a Kremlin loyalist. On Telegram on Monday, LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky said “the party card of the Liberal Democratic Party” had been “personally handed” to Bout. In his first interview since his release, Bout told the state-run Russia Today channel that the West sought to “destroy and divide Russia” in the years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

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History of this topic

Who is Viktor Bout, the ‘Merchant of Death’, swapped for US basketball star Brittney Griner?
2 years, 3 months ago

Who is Viktor Bout, the ‘Merchant of Death’, swapped for US basketball star Brittney Griner?

Firstpost  

Depending on whom you ask, the 55-year-old Viktor Bout is a swashbuckling businessman unjustly imprisoned after an overly aggressive US sting operation or a peddler of weapons whose sales fuelled some of the world’s worst conflicts and earned him the ‘Merchant of Death’ moniker It’s been dubbed the ‘most uneven of swaps’. Depending on whom you ask, the 55-year-old Viktor …

Griner-Bout prisoner swap: A sign of easing US-Russia tensions?
2 years, 3 months ago

Griner-Bout prisoner swap: A sign of easing US-Russia tensions?

Al Jazeera  

The high-profile exchange was a rare moment of agreement between two nations locked in conflict over Ukraine. On Thursday, 32-year-old American basketball player Brittney Griner was swapped for 55-year-old Viktor Bout, an infamous Russian arms dealer nicknamed “The Merchant of Death”. Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russian security affairs, told Al Jazeera via email: “There was considerable political pressure on …

Brittney Griner released in US-Russia prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout
2 years, 3 months ago

Brittney Griner released in US-Russia prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout

ABC  

Russia has freed WNBA star Brittney Griner in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the US releasing Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, American officials say. Key points: US President Joe Biden had confirmed WNBA basketballer Brittney Griner is on her way to the US Griner was released by Russia in return for the US release of arms dealer Viktor Bout …

Russia frees US basketball star Brittney Griner in prisoner swap
2 years, 3 months ago

Russia frees US basketball star Brittney Griner in prisoner swap

Al Jazeera  

Moscow says Griner was traded for Viktor Bout, a Russian former arms dealer convicted and jailed in the United States. Basketball star Brittney Griner has been freed from a Russian prison and is on her way home to the United States after a prisoner swap with convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year jail term in the …

Russia signals openness to prisoner swap with US
2 years, 3 months ago

Russia signals openness to prisoner swap with US

Al Jazeera  

Deputy foreign minister says convicted Russian arms deal Viktor Bout is among those being discussed in potential swap. Russia has signalled it is open to a prisoner swap with the United States, one that would see convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout freed, as the Biden administration continues to seek the release of jailed US basketball star Brittney Griner. Ryabkov’s …

Who is Viktor Bout, Russian man at centre of US prisoner ‘swap’?
2 years, 7 months ago

Who is Viktor Bout, Russian man at centre of US prisoner ‘swap’?

Al Jazeera  

Reports say US has proposed to Russia to release convicted arms dealer for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. The United States government has reportedly offered to free Viktor Bout, an imprisoned Russian arms dealer, in exchange for the release of basketball star Brittney Griner and former US marine Paul Whelan, who are held by Russian authorities. From Africa to Afghanistan …

Viktor Bout: The Russian arms dealer touted for US prisoner swap
2 years, 7 months ago

Viktor Bout: The Russian arms dealer touted for US prisoner swap

CNN  

CNN — The future of two American citizens detained in Russia could hinge on the release of a convicted Russian arms dealer, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death” by his accusers, whose life story inspired a Hollywood film. The Kremlin has long called for Bout’s release, slamming his sentencing in 2012 as “baseless and biased.” CNN reported Wednesday that the Biden …

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