Viktor Bout, who has served about a third of his 25-year term, insists he is a political prisoner and a victim of biased US justice. RT spoke to him about why he believes things went south for him.

The Russian businessman was arrested in Thailand in 2008 after a sting operation by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He was accused of agreeing to sell anti-aircraft missiles to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), extradited, and sent to jail.

In an exclusive interview with RT, Bout said he was sentenced on bogus grounds and that his punishment was excessively harsh simply because he is Russian.

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“I am here [because of] my nationality. I denied to cooperate with their side,” he said. “The State Department a few years ago openly admitted: ‘Yeah, we’re gonna keep him as an example, as a whipping boy so other Russians are more polite and cooperative with us when we go after their corrupt regime.’”

They approached and said: we are going to get all your family the green card and settle you there if you tell us some dirt about Putin and how corrupt his regime is and so on. And I said you’ve come to the wrong person. That’s why I went to the trial.

Watch a report by RT’s Caleb Maupin for more.

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