Russia wants fair trial against Bout – Russian FM
"We are not saying Bout has committed nothing illegal," he stressed. "We do not know for sure. No one knows until a judgement is passed."
"We are advocating the rights of our citizen that are secured by all international norms. And we want justice to be administrated. Nothing more," he stressed.
"There are too many speculations around this subject in the Western media, from our political scientists. They accuse us of almost covering up a criminal, although no court has of yet pleaded him guilty of anything," Lavrov said.
"I want to make it absolutely clear. We must always protect the rights of our citizens if they are in trouble, no matter whether these citizens are suspects or not," he emphasized. "All the more, when there has been no trial. This is what we mean when insisting on consular access to Viktor Bout."
According to the foreign minister, Russia's consul general in New York has had a contact with Bout. "The conditions he is being kept in are far from being ideal. He has no hygienic items. We shall see to it that he has some," he added.
