MOSCOW, April 2 - RAPSI. U.S. prosecutors on Friday asked a New York federal judge to give a life sentence to convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

In a court filing, prosecutors substantiated their request for the severe sentence by saying that Bout intended to sell several hundred ground-to-air missiles to a terrorist organization to kill Americans.

Bout, who has denied all charges against him, faces from 25 years to life in prison.

Bout was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and then extradited to the United States. The United States has charged Bout with conspiring to kill Americans and U.S. officials, illegal surface-to-air missile trafficking and supporting terrorism by cooperating with the Colombian FARC guerrilla organization.

Bout challenged the verdict and filed several motions, arguing that the accusations leveled against him were not supported by the case materials.

A lawyer for Bout, who is awaiting sentencing on April 5, earlier asked the New York Court to drop the charges against him because of “wrongful prosecution.”