An appeal lodged by illegal arms dealer Viktor Bout against his ongoing detention was dropped yesterday, on a legal technicality.
Judge Jitakorn Patanasiri of the Court of Appeals said Bout had missed a 15-day deadline for filing his bail request.
Lawyer Lak Nitiwatthanawijarn said Bout wanted an appeal against his extradition to the US to face prosecution withdrawn because of the time the process would take, but had later changed his mind.
Bout wanted a temporary release while the case continued, with the Russian embassy guaranteeing he would not try to escape. His lawyer said the detention of Bout for over two years was not lawful, but still no date had been set for the appeal ruling on his extradition.
The Criminal Court had rejected the public prosecutors' request to extradite him to the US, citing a legal exemption which regards his arrest and detention as a political case.
