The Russian Foreign Ministry has criticized the decision by a U.S. appeals court on September 27 to uphold the conviction and prison sentence of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
In a statement issued on September 28, the ministry said that the U.S. "legal machine once again rubber-stamped an obvious political stitch-up job despite the obvious weakness of the body of evidence."
Bout was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
He was arrested in 2008 in Thailand in an international sting operation after he agreed to sell arms to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents, whom he believed were members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), to use against U.S. forces.
Washington has designated FARC a terrorist organization.
Bout's case has strained relations between Washington and Moscow.
In a statement issued on September 28, the ministry said that the U.S. "legal machine once again rubber-stamped an obvious political stitch-up job despite the obvious weakness of the body of evidence."
Bout was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
He was arrested in 2008 in Thailand in an international sting operation after he agreed to sell arms to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents, whom he believed were members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), to use against U.S. forces.
Washington has designated FARC a terrorist organization.
Bout's case has strained relations between Washington and Moscow.
