A Japanese court has acquitted a Russian man who was convicted of possessing a handgun almost 20 years ago. The Sapporo District Court ruled former seaman Andrei Novosyolov not guilty today. Novosyolov was arrested in 1997 at Otaru port in Hokkaido, northern Japan, for possessing a handgun. He was found guilty and sentenced the following year to 2 years in prison. After spending 2 years behind bars, Novosyolov sought a retrial, saying the conviction was the result of an illegal sting operation.<br/><br/> The Sapporo District Court approved the retrial in March of 2016, recognizing that the sting operation in his case was illegal. In the retrial last month, Novosyolov said he was the victim of an illegal sting operation. Prosecutors did not submit new evidence and asked the court to hand down a not guilty verdict. After the ruling, Novosyolov told reporters that he is happy to be cleared after many years.