A notorious arms dealer dubbed the "Merchant of Death" has been
sentenced to 25 years in prison following his conviction on terrorism
charges.
After former Soviet officer Viktor Bout was sentenced in
New York on Thursday, Russia's Foreign Ministry called the sentence
"unfounded and biased" and pledged to seek his return home.
Russia had described Bout's arrest as illegal.
Bout
has been in jail since his arrest in Thailand four years ago after he
met US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) operatives posing as
agents of a Colombian terrorism group. He was extradited to the US for
trial in 2010.
Prosecutors portrayed Bout as one of the world's
worst villains. They say the 45-year-old was ready to sell up to 20
million US dollars in weapons, including surface-to-air missiles to
shoot down US helicopters. Bout has insisted he is a legitimate
businessman.
On Thursday, Bout made clear he had heard enough in
court, although a federal prosecutor was only two minutes into an
argument urging a harsh prison sentence.
"It's a lie!" Bout
blurted out in English - a rare show of raw defiance for a defendant
facing a possible life term. Despite Bout's outburst and his insistence
that he was framed, he received only the mandatory minimum 25 years in
prison.
The way federal agents went about capturing Bout - an
elaborate sting that lured him to Thailand - appeared to play in his
favour at his sentencing.
US district judge Shira Scheindlin said
25 years - not the life sentence wanted by prosecutors - was sufficient
and appropriate because there was no evidence that Bout would have been
charged with seeking to harm Americans if not approached by informants
posing as Colombian rebels.
Bout's sentencing came months after a
jury convicted him of four conspiracy charges relating to his support
of a Colombian terrorist organisation.