Viktor Bout Sentenced To 25 Years

[webfact]

Viktor Bout sentenced to 25 years

NEW YORK: -- A Federal Court in New York Court has sentenced Viktor Bout to 25 years in prison.

Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who was accused by the U.S. of illegal arms trafficking has been sentenced to 25 years in prison reports the Voice of Russia’s correspondent in New York at the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York.

Bout was arrested in 2008 in Thailand, and two years later - was extradited to the United States.

In November last year a court in New York pronounced the Russian guilty of illegal arms trafficking, supporting terrorism and conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens.

To this day, the Russian has maintained his innocence and says he fell victim to propaganda and misinformation.

Moscow has repeatedly pointed to the fact that the extradition of Bout to the United States was conducted illegally, without the appropriate final sanction of a court.

Viktor Bout gave an exclusive phone interview to the Voice of Russia from his prison cell just before being adjudged by the New York Court.

Source: http://english.ruvr...._06/court-Bout/

-- The Voice of Russia 2012-04-06

[webfact]

Russian Arms Dealer Bout Gets 25 Years in Prison

NEW YORK: -- A U.S. federal judge sentenced on Thursday convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to 25 years in prison.

Bout’s lawyer Albert Y. Dayan said Judge Shira A. Scheindlin’s ruling is not the end for him and his client and they will keep on fighting to establish the truth.

Dayan added that the issue of Bout’s extradition to Russia is also a possibility.

The U.S. Justice Department has called for a 30-year prison sentence for Bout. In November last year, the jury of the Federal District Court of New York found him guilty of conspiring to kill U.S. officials and citizens, of acquiring and intending to use Russian-made Igla anti-aircraft missiles and providing support to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), considered a terrorist group by the United States.

Full story: http://en.rian.ru/wo.../172642752.html

-- RIANOVOSTI 2012-04-06

[webfact]

U.S. court sentences Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to 25 years

2012-04-06 08:01:07 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- A federal court in New York on Thursday sentenced Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to 25 years in prison, prosecutors said. He arrived in the United States in November 2010 after being extradited from Thailand, where he had been imprisoned since 2008.

Bout, dubbed as the "Merchant of Death", had been charged by U.S. prosecutors for conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons, including hundreds of surface-to-air missiles and over 20,000 AK-47s to Colombian militant group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), which the U.S. has designated a foreign terrorist organization.

Bout, who is also a former Soviet air force officer, had repeatedly denied the charges and claimed he was on a business trip to sell planes. During the sentencing on Thursday, Bout stated that he did not intend to kill anyone or to sell any weapons.

The Russian arms dealer was extradited from Thailand to the United States in November 2010 after a long episode in which both the United States and Russia fought for his extradition. Bout had been imprisoned since March 2008 when he was arrested during a joint U.S.-Thai operation at a Bangkok hotel.

"Viktor Bout has been international arms trafficking enemy number one for many years, arming some of the most violent conflicts around the globe," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara said. "He was finally brought to justice in an American court for agreeing to provide a staggering number of military grade weapons to an avowed terrorist organization committed to killing Americans."

"Today's sentence is a fitting coda for this career arms trafficker of the most dangerous order," Bharara added.

Bout, who is accused of trafficking arms to warlords around the world since the 1990s, had been facing up to life in prison for four terrorism charges in the United States, including conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, conspiracy to kill U.S. officers or employees, conspiracy to acquire an anti-aircraft missile and conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist group.

In addition to his 25-year prison term, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin sentenced Bout to five years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $15 million and pay a $400 special assessment fee.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-04-06

[samsiam]

Sucks really.....only doing what America does.

[Ulysses G.]

Only 25 years after all the people who have been murdered with illegal weapons that he sold?

[Credo]

He sold the weapons. He didn't kill the people personally.

[samsiam]

Didn't Bush send some weapons somewhere ??

[chuckd]

Didn't Bush send some weapons somewhere ??

Yep:

Sent them to the same place France, Russia, China, Germany and the UK sent them.

[Naam]

Only 25 years after all the people who have been murdered with illegal weapons that he sold?

[gaucho]

good riddance a little less scum floating around they always justify themselves ...

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

Sucks really.....only doing what America does.

Exactly...

[Fishenough]

I know, it's old now.i

Edited April 6, 2012 by Fishenough

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

The US hates competition...

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

Only 25 years after all the people who have been murdered with illegal weapons that he sold?

and how many has the USA sold...?

[pacovl46]

Only 25 years after all the people who have been murdered with illegal weapons that he sold?

Are you kidding me??? This guy has sold weapons for the U.S where the U.S couldn't be seen selling weapons to certain countries. He's been in business with them all along, and now they crucify him for whatever reason! Besides how many people are killed by American soldiers on a daily basis all over the world in the name of OIL!!! The American government has killed more people than any other nation on this planet!!!

[scania]

illegal weapons?? How are the weapons illegal?? Is it better if the people are killed with "legal" weapons? I think many big names who are walking free have been sending weapons and more all over the world and killing more people than you can think of, all because they are presidents and so on.

Only 25 years after all the people who have been murdered with illegal weapons that he sold?

[giddyup]

Only 25 years after all the people who have been murdered with illegal weapons that he sold?

How many people have been murdered with legal weapons?

[Unkomoncents]

The US had him extradited illegally because the Russians have already succeeded in buying off half each of the local governments of Pattaya and Phuket. The Thai judiciary has clearly demonstrated a long history of failure to be impartial and independent. If the United States could have successfully guaranteed a transparent extradition hearing for Bout in which all deciding parties avoided peddling influence, I'm sure the US would have done that. There's no logical reason to freely give Russia ammunition for diplomatic tension. If Bout had been successfully captured in UK, Australia or Europe, you can be sure the extradition hearing would have occurred and been legal.

[MihaiThai]

oh...

so, for most of you, I see that selling weapons to insurgents is ok.

it's no crime as long as he did not push the trigger?!

and the fact that some countries are also doing it in a 'semi-official' way also means that anyone should be fine doing it and not punished.

this is sad

[DoctorG]

oh...

so, for most of you, I see that selling weapons to insurgents is ok.

it's no crime as long as he did not push the trigger?!

and the fact that some countries are also doing it in a 'semi-official' way also means that anyone should be fine doing it and not punished.

this is sad

I think you are misjudging posters. I believe what they were saying is that it is hypercritical of the USA to prosecute someone for arms sales when the USA (et alia) also sell weapons openly and covertly.

I don't believe that anyone here approves of selling weapons to insurgents.

[chuckd]

Only 25 years after all the people who have been murdered with illegal weapons that he sold?

Are you kidding me??? This guy has sold weapons for the U.S where the U.S couldn't be seen selling weapons to certain countries. He's been in business with them all along, and now they crucify him for whatever reason! Besides how many people are killed by American soldiers on a daily basis all over the world in the name of OIL!!! The American government has killed more people than any other nation on this planet!!!

Oh, I don't know about that last statement. Did you forget Germany, Russia, Japan and China during the 20th century?

Edit in: Please tell us how many people were killed yesterday by US soldiers in the name of OIL. Betcha can't do it!

What an absurd remark.

Edited April 6, 2012 by chuckd

[chuckd]

The US had him extradited illegally because the Russians have already succeeded in buying off half each of the local governments of Pattaya and Phuket. The Thai judiciary has clearly demonstrated a long history of failure to be impartial and independent. If the United States could have successfully guaranteed a transparent extradition hearing for Bout in which all deciding parties avoided peddling influence, I'm sure the US would have done that. There's no logical reason to freely give Russia ammunition for diplomatic tension. If Bout had been successfully captured in UK, Australia or Europe, you can be sure the extradition hearing would have occurred and been legal.

Please provide a list of laws that were broken with the Thai extradition of Bout to the US.

Your last sentence is redundant since Bout was NOT arrested in either of the three legal domains you have listed. The laws there have no bearing on this topic.

[MihaiThai]

oh...

so, for most of you, I see that selling weapons to insurgents is ok.

it's no crime as long as he did not push the trigger?!

and the fact that some countries are also doing it in a 'semi-official' way also means that anyone should be fine doing it and not punished.

this is sad

I think you are misjudging posters. I believe what they were saying is that it is hypercritical of the USA to prosecute someone for arms sales when the USA (et alia) also sell weapons openly and covertly.

I don't believe that anyone here approves of selling weapons to insurgents.

so if someone goes into an illegal business because someone else does that they should be ok? or if you do something illegal in the service of your country, religion, family, beliefs etc, you should not be punished?? I am not discussing now if you should do it or not. I am asking why people expect someone found to do an illegal thing should not be punished. As long as the laws in US say what he did is illegal he should be punished. Maybe we can talk about why nobody else involved was punished or why is ok for some countries to do this and complain about the system. But not say that "He sold the weapons. He didn't kill the people personally." and that should be ok and he was punished for nothing.

I think the main fault lately is the fact that policy makers nowadays think that the demand for illegal items has to be cut first and not the supply. It is like saying it is ok to provide anything as long as there is a demand. Just business... "poor me i have to make a living so it is ok to enter an illegal business".

[NomadJoe]

Only 25 years after all the people who have been murdered with illegal weapons that he sold?

Are you kidding me??? This guy has sold weapons for the U.S where the U.S couldn't be seen selling weapons to certain countries. He's been in business with them all along, and now they crucify him for whatever reason! Besides how many people are killed by American soldiers on a daily basis all over the world in the name of OIL!!! The American government has killed more people than any other nation on this planet!!!

Despite negative feelings about the US playing the worlds police and the perceived hypocrisy by some, this guy sold arms to both sides of African conflicts fueling genocide, child soldiers, mass rapes etc etc for profit for years. He needed to be stopped and I am glad he has been. Less people will suffer and die because of it. He was a big name in the nuclear non-proliferation game. He was on the short list of people that were thought to be able capable of bringing all the pieces together for a rouge nation wanting a nuke.

At least the US, UK and others had a political agenda when they train, support and fund one side of a conflict. There is a big difference between that and what Bout did. A point can be made about US causing the deaths of innocents eg Iraq, a war sold to the world with lies. That's the reason why the U.S. pulled out of the International Criminal Court. Otherwise Cheney, Rummy, and Bush 42 would probably have had to stand trial for starting an illegal war, and with the information available now, it would appear rightly so.

Despite having once sold weapons and flown planes as a contractor for the US, he was caught on tape selling weapons to US DEA Agents posing as FARC representatives which he was specifically told were for the express purpose of killing Americans.

Lets not forget that he was wanted in several other countries. Belgium wanted him on money laundering. The CAR wanted him for falsifying documents. He was a serial UN sanctions buster . He is of suspected of supplying Charles Taylor with arms for use in the Sierra Leone War.

[khaowong1]

Sucks really.....only doing what America does.

Don't for one minute think America is the only country on this planet selling weapons. They all do.

[fred110]

Only 25 years after all the people who have been murdered with illegal weapons that he sold?

Are you kidding me??? This guy has sold weapons for the U.S where the U.S couldn't be seen selling weapons to certain countries. He's been in business with them all along, and now they crucify him for whatever reason! Besides how many people are killed by American soldiers on a daily basis all over the world in the name of OIL!!! The American government has killed more people than any other nation on this planet!!!

No, I think Germany, Russia, China are ahead by millions.

[webfact]

'Merchant of Death' sentenced to 25 years in US prison

The Nation

NEW YORK: -- A United States court on Thursday sentenced a Russianarms trafficker to 25 years in prison for conspiring to kill USnationals and for providing weapons to a terrorist organisation inLatin America.

Judge Shira Scheindlin of the Federal District Court in New YorkCity also fined Viktor Bout 15 million dollars. A jury had found himguilty of counts of conspiring to kill US citizens who assisted thegovernment in Colombia more than a decade ago in the fight againstthe Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

The US hasdeclared FARC a terrorist organisation. Bout, 45, was also accused by Washington of trying to sell FARC 20million dollars’ worth of anti-aircraft missiles, other weapons andammunition. He was convicted in November 2011.

The former Soviet Air Force officer was arrested in Thailand inMarch 2008 in a sting operation orchestrated by the US DrugEnforcement Administration and later extradited to the United Statesto stand trial for trying to kill US citizens.

Moscow protested the arrest and extradition to the US at the time,calling them politically motivated.

-- The Nation 2012-04-06

[geriatrickid]

I sympathize with Mr. Bout. i think that the man deserves another trial. As such I hope he is sent to Sierra Leone or Liberia where he can address the allegations of breaking UN approved sanctions on the sale of weapons and of aiding and abetting genocide.

[Unkomoncents]

The US had him extradited illegally because the Russians have already succeeded in buying off half each of the local governments of Pattaya and Phuket. The Thai judiciary has clearly demonstrated a long history of failure to be impartial and independent. If the United States could have successfully guaranteed a transparent extradition hearing for Bout in which all deciding parties avoided peddling influence, I'm sure the US would have done that. There's no logical reason to freely give Russia ammunition for diplomatic tension. If Bout had been successfully captured in UK, Australia or Europe, you can be sure the extradition hearing would have occurred and been legal.

Please provide a list of laws that were broken with the Thai extradition of Bout to the US.

Your last sentence is redundant since Bout was NOT arrested in either of the three legal domains you have listed. The laws there have no bearing on this topic.

Why don't YOU provide proof that there weren't a series of laws broken?! What kind of inane request is that?! Also, the article clearly uses the words "extradited" and "illegally" (which, for most, would be enough evidence to suggest that laws WERE broken) so, as far as this topic is concerned, I'm discussing what was said in the article. If you have a problem, then it's with the article, not with what I said. Also, the word "redundant" actually means unnecessarily repetitive (which I clearly wasn't); what you meant to say is that, because Bout wasn't arrested in the US, Australia or the UK, I was mistaken (in my thinking, and not "redundant") to assert that in some other specific jurisdictions, the result of this might have been different. I know where Bout was arrested but thanks for the update!

Edited April 6, 2012 by Unkomoncents

[khunken]

Actually there is double hypocrisy here:

1) The US happily supplied arms to the mujahadeen in Afghanistan during the USSR invasion - a fact that has come back to haunt them ever since;

2) Why wasn't Oliver North - America's most famous arms peddlar - prosecuted for supplying arms to Iran? I suppose the fact that he did it on behalf of the US regime at the time meant he was untouchable.