Thai Court Defers `Merchant Of Death" Decision

`If the defence cannot produce the witness at the next hearing, the court will not wait,` the judge said.

Alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout said the United States had no proof linking him to weapons sales to Colombian rebels, as a Thai court adjourned an extradition hearing because his wife was to too ill to testify.

Bout's wife was at the court on Friday but said she was sick, prompting the presiding judge to show frustration at the repeated delays.

"If the defence cannot produce the witness at the next hearing, the court will not wait," the judge said, setting the hearing for Monday, March 9.

A previous hearing at Bangkok's Criminal Court on Dec. 23 was also adjourned because two defence witnesses failed to show up.

Bout, dubbed the "Merchant of Death" by the media, was arrested in Bangkok in an American sting operation after arriving from Moscow in March last year.

He appeared in court in orange prison garb, handcuffed and his ankles shackled, but looking healthy.

He told reporters it was disgraceful he had been held for almost a year on the basis of what he said were just rumours.

"What about human rights? What about the rule of law?" he said. "I challenge those people (U.S. officials), if they have any proof of my wrongdoing, not lies and rumours, then bring the facts."

The United States wants Bout to stand trial for conspiracy to sell arms to the FARC rebels in Colombia.

U.S. authorities say the weapons could be used to kill Americans in Colombia and allege Bout has been trafficking arms since the 1990s, using a fleet of cargo planes to send weapons to Africa, South America and the Middle East.

At his previous court appearance in December, Bout, reportedly the model for the character played by Nicholas Cage in the 2005 movie "Lord of War", said he was merely a businessman involved in aviation.

His lawyers argue that he was illegally detained by Thai and American officials.

According to the United Nations and the U.S. Treasury, Bout has sold or brokered arms that have helped fuel wars in Afghanistan, Angola, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Sudan.