NEW YORK CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2022) Former District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, who presided over Viktor Bout's trial, told Sputnik she still believes the 25-year sentence handed to the Russian businessman was very severe, as he was arrested in a US sting operation for a crime he was not looking to commit.
Judge Scheindlin sentenced Bout to 25 years in a US prison in 2012 on charges of conspiring to supply Colombian rebels with weapons to kill Americans. Later, the retired judge said that Bout "got a hard deal," and 10 years would have been a "fair sentence."
"That is still true. I thought he got a very harsh sentence, because this was a crime that he wasn't looking to commit. He was approached by the undercover agents. He did not approach the Colombian terrorist organization. They did not approach him," Scheindlin said, when asked whether she had changed her mind.
"This was set up by the United States government. He was willing to do it (sell weapons) so it's not entrapment. But he wasn't looking to do it. He wasn't looking to commit this crime. Unlike an active drug dealer, for example. Then there's a sting where an agent buys the drugs, that's different, because he's already selling drugs every day," the retired judge explained.
At that point, Bout was "not in the business of the arms and he was not looking to deal with a terrorist organization," the retired judge added. She noted that given that "unique circumstance," she would have given a shorter sentence if she could have.
At the same, she disagreed that it would make sense to give Bout less than 10 years.
Last week, the United States released Bout in exchange for Brittney Griner, who was sentenced earlier this year to nine years in prison in Russia for illegally bringing cannabis oil into the country.
