U.S. Prosecutors Seeks Life Imprisonment For Russian Arms Dealer

Viktor Bout in a court in Bangkok in October 2011

U.S. prosecutors filed papers with a federal court on March 30 asking that convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout be sentenced to life in prison.

Bout was convicted in the United States in November of agreeing to sell weapons to agents posing as Colombian militants who said they planned to attack U.S. soldiers.

He is due to be sentenced on April 5.

Prosecutors said life imprisonment for Bout was necessary to deter people from selling arms to militant groups in the future.

Bout has claimed he is only a businessman.

Prosecutors referred to this claim in their request for the life sentence, saying "he was a businessman of the most dangerous order."

Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS and Reuters