A judge denied a request to end an arms trafficking case against Russian businessman Viktor Bout and his trial will begin as scheduled on October 11, Bout's lawyer told RIA Novosti.
Lawyer Albert Dayan asked the court to end the case on the grounds that his client's extradition from Thailand was unlawful.
"We are set to persuade the jury that the case was fabricated by agents of U.S. special services and that Bout had no intention to supply weapons to FARC or anyone else," the lawyer said.
Bout, 44, is being held in a New York prison while he awaits trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in October on charges including conspiring to supply arms to terrorist groups and conspiring to kill U.S. nationals.
The Russian national, who was arrested in a U.S. sting operation in Thailand in 2008 and extradited to the U.S. in November 2010, denies all the charges against him. He could face anything from 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
