NEW YORK — Suspected arms smuggler Viktor Bout said U.S. agents warned that he could face hunger, disease and rape in Thailand jails if he did not talk to them.
Bout made the claim in a court document filed Monday in federal court in Manhattan as his lawyers asked that charges against him be dropped.
Bout was extradited from Thailand last year to face conspiracy charges. He has pleaded not guilty. He was arrested in March 2008 at a Bangkok hotel.
Moscow has complained that his extradition was unlawful and political. His trial is set for Oct. 11.