Viktor Bout sentenced to 25 years in prison
Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer who was once dubbed the "Merchant of Death", has been handed the minimum possible sentence of 25 years in prison by a New York judge after being convicted on terrorism charges. - Bout's sentencing on Thursday marked the culmination of a sting operation, carried out by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Thailand in 2008, in which US informers posed as potential arms buyers for Colombia's FARC rebels. Bout, 45, was arrested in Bangkok in 2008 and subsequently extradited to New York where he was convicted last year. Prosecutors had called for him to be jailed for life, portraying the former Soviet army officer as one of the world's most notorious and unscrupulous arms dealers.
Stephen Lendman: Viktor Bout: Victimized by US Injustice - On February 17, 2010, the US Justice Department indicted Bout and Richard Ammar Chichakli "for allegedly conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA") stemming from their efforts to purchase two aircraft from companies located in the United States, in violation of economic sanctions which prohibited such financial transactions."