Judge reconsiders solitary for arms dealer

NEW YORK, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A New York judge says it may be possible to move Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout from solitary confinement before sentencing.

Bout was convicted of plotting to sell high-powered weapons to Colombian drug gangs. He has been in solitary for 14 months in what defense lawyer Albert Dayan has called "dungeon-like conditions" with "Monte Cristoesque qualities."

Dayan submitted a letter to U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin, petitioning for Bout to be released into the general population at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, the New York Post reported.

"It seems harsh," she said. "It seems brutal. It seems unnecessary. It seems like something should have been done about it."