Russian Arms Dealer Bout's U.S. Conviction Upheld

Alla Bout, wife of jailed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, stands in front of his photo as she attends a protest in front of the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg in 2011.

A U.S. federal appeals court has upheld the conviction and prison sentence of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The Russian Foreign Ministry's human rights representative, Konstantin Dolgov, said the September 27 court ruling showed the case against Bout was unjust and politically motivated.

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 (DEA) agents, whom he believed were members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to use against U.S. forces.

The U.S. government has designated FARC a terrorist organization.

Bout's case strained relations between Washington and Moscow, which has demanded the return of the onetime Soviet air force officer.

Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax