NEW YORK, June 4 - RAPSI. A U.S. court has decided to transfer alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout to a medium-security prison in Marion, Illinois after a three-party meeting between the Attorney's Office, the court and the defense, Bout's counsel Albert Dayan told RIA Novosti on Monday.
On May 15, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York suspended Bout's transfer to a notorious supermax prison in Florence, Colorado upon Dayan's request.
"The Marion prison was originally built as a high-security prison for dangerous criminals and was later modified into a medium-security penitentiary," the counsel's assistant said. "It is located in a hard-to-reach area, so it will be difficult to visit Viktor."
He added that the defense may file further requests to transfer Bout to a nearer location.
In the meantime, Judge Shira Scheindlin said she will not consider any requests for Bout's transfer.
Bout is presently in a medium-security prison in Brooklyn where to he was moved after spending nearly 15 months in solitary confinement in a Manhattan jail.
Bout was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the New York Federal Court for planning to sell arms to the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces. The U.S. agents who dealt with Bout presented themselves as commanders. Bout has denied the charges against him.
Attorney General Eric Holder said earlier that the United States may consider Bouts extradition to Russia if they receive a request from the Russian authorities.