Arms dealer Viktor Bout has withdrawn his appeal of a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. for conspiring to kill U.S. soldiers, saying he considered further motions pointless, his wife said Tuesday.
A three-judge panel at a U.S. appeals court rejected Bout's previous appeal in September, rejecting his argument that he was a victim of a "vindictive" prosecution and was entrapped by a law enforcement sting.
Bout's wife, Alla, said dropping further appeals "was Viktor's decision," RAPSI reported.
"There is no point in a further appeal at the full Court of Appeals or at the U.S. Supreme Court," she said. "The situation would be the same."
Alla Bout said her husband has fired his attorney and asked lawyer Alexei Binetsky to represent him. She didn't not elaborate on the reasons.
Bout was convicted in 2012 for conspiring to kill U.S. soldiers and civilians by agreeing to sell weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents had been posing as FARC members during the sting, and Bout argues he was ensnared.
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