The U.S. has turned down a Russian government request to allow Viktor Bout to be repatriated to serve the rest of his 25-year prison term in his homeland. The U.S. refusal leaves Bout with only his appeal of his 2011 conviction as the last chance to evade his prison term.
The U.S. decision was announced Saturday by Konstantin Dolgov, commission for human rights with the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to the Russian Interfax news agency. The ministry had asked the U.S. Justice Department to extradite Bout in order to serve the remainder of his sentence in a Russian facility.
Bout is serving out his term at the federal medium-security prison at Marion, Ill. He was convicted last November on four conspiracy counts stemming from a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency sting operation. Bout told informants disguised as South American terrorist operatives that he could provide them with millions of dollars in anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons.
–Reuters: “The United States has refused a request from Russia that convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout be returned to his home country to spend the remainder of his 25-year prison term, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said on Saturday.”