Arms dealer tries to block extradition

A Russian businessman dubbed the “Merchant of Death” sought Monday to prevent his extradition to the United States, telling a court here that he was not involved in a scheme to sell weapons to Colombian rebels.

Viktor Bout, a former Soviet air force officer, has long been linked to some of Africa’s most notorious conflicts, allegedly supplying arms to former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor and Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi.

He has repeatedly denied any involvement in illicit activities and has never been prosecuted, despite being the subject of U.N. sanctions and a travel ban.

The U.S. is seeking Bout’s extradition on charges that he conspired to sell millions of dollars’ worth of weapons, including 100 surface-to-air missiles and armor-piercing rockets, to leftist rebels.

The 41-year-old Russian -- who was purportedly the model for the arms dealer portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the 2005 movie “Lord of War” -- was arrested in March during a sting in which undercover U.S. agents posed as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish initials FARC.

Bout, dressed in an orange prison uniform with shackles around his ankles, told the court he was set up by the Americans.

“I never met anyone from FARC. I’ve never talked to anyone from FARC,” Bout said. “I didn’t do anything wrong in Thailand.”

The U.N. suspects that his clients have included Taylor, Kadafi, the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, now known as Congo, and both sides of the civil war in Angola.

Bout faces charges in the United States of conspiring to kill Americans, conspiring to kill U.S. officers or employees, conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile. He could face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.

Two witnesses failed to show up when the hearing resumed today, and the proceeding was postponed until March 6.