Arms dealer Viktor Bout, blamed for arming Al Qaeda, receives 25 years in prison (+video)

The US has alleged that Bout's operation armed the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the months leading up to the 9/11 attacks. His planes were then headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, and the US, United Nations, and Britain received a growing number of reports that they were delivering supplies to the Taliban, under whose rule Al Qaeda operated freely in Afghanistan.

Russia has viewed the prosecution against Bout as politically motivated since he was first arrested in Thailand and was furious when the US extradited him from Thailand to the US in November 2010, The Christian Science Monitor reported at the time. Viktor Baranets, a military columnist for the Moscow daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, said that had the US worked with Russia, rather than acting unilaterally, Russia's response might have been different.

"As it is, we have a lot of questions. Many people in Russia believe that Bout is being framed. Some think that Bout was removed because he's a competitor of American arms interests, or otherwise crossed them. The case against him contains a lot of strong accusations, but the substance looks thin," Mr. Baranets said.

Today Russia's Foreign Ministry said it would make every effort to have Bout repatriated and that it would be a "top priority" in US-Russia relations, official news outlet RIA Novosti reports. Russia insists that Bout's capture and trial were unfair. 

"In spite of the unreliability of the evidence, the illegal character of his arrest involving the participation of US special service agents in Thailand and the subsequent extradition, American legal officials, having carried out a political order, ignored the arguments of lawyers and numerous appeals from all levels in defense of this Russian citizen," the Russian ministry said.

"Long before the sentence was given to Bout, the authorities declared him the 'Merchant of Death' and almost an international terrorist, but this accusation was based exclusively on his imputed 'criminal intent'," the Ministry added.

"From there, an attempt was made to force him to admit his guilt by creating unbearable conditions for detention, by both physical and psychological means. The absolutely unacceptable campaign by the American media was aimed at influencing the jury and the judicial process in the 'right direction.' " 

Bout proclaimed his innocence until the end, insisting “I am not guilty. I never intended to kill anyone and I never intended to sell arms to anyone," The New York Times reports.

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