Viktor Bout Describes Life at USP Marion

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Sat Nov 24, 2012 at 08:52:00 AM EST
Tags: Victor Bout (all tags)

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Two weeks ago, the U.S. denied Russia's request to return Viktor Bout to Russia under the 1983 Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. The full letter of denial is here. DOJ's reasons:

"The United States denied the transfer application because the prisoner has a pending appeal, because of the seriousness of the offense, because of serious law enforcement concerns and because the prisoner is a poor candidate due to his criminal history."

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said it won't give up. It believes Bout's extradition from Thailand to the U.S. and his prosecution were politically motivated. [More...]

Bout is currently appealing his conviction and 25 year sentence for:

Conspiracy to kill United States nationals, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2332,3238.
Conspiracy to kill officers and employees of the United States, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1114, 1117, 3238
Conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2332,3238.
Harboring/concealing terrorists, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2339B, 3238.

Bout is serving his sentence at the United States Penitentiary, Marion (USP Marion) in Illinois, a maximum security prison. He was put in a CMU (Communications Management Unit) where his phone and mail privileges are extremely limited. He is, however, allowed to e-mail.

In an e-mail last week to the Voice of Russia, he describes life at USP Marion. After expressing his frustration at having limited access to the news and reading materials in a familiar language he writes:

I have been doing a lot of exercises: yoga, Pilates, running, playing volleyball with other inmates. I have been doing a little bit of drawing, listening to good music: classical, classical Indian, Brazilian, Latino and whatever I can find through the Bureau of Prison’s ‘iTunes-ish’ sales program. (BOP began selling MP3 players in August) Songs are sold separately however, and often, you can’t buy just any classical music as some symphonies and movements will not be there. Also, you cannot create playl