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US-jailed Russian pilot Yaroshenko still kept in special housing unit — attorney

Konstantin Yaroshenko was taken to the special housing unit on April 30, according to his attorney Alexei Tarasov

NEW YORK, May 30. /TASS/. Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, serving a 20-year prison term in the United States, is possibly still being held in a special housing unit of the Fort Dix prison in New Jersey, his attorney Alexei Tarasov told TASS.

"Konstantin Yaroshenko was taken to the special housing unit on April 30," he said. "There have been no reports of his incarceration conditions being changed. It is quite possible that he is still there."

Tarasov said he would contact the prison authorities later on Wednesday to clarify the situation.

"I will request a phone conversation or a personal meeting with Yaroshenko," he said.

Russian pilot Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years in jail in the United States on September 7, 2011. He had been brought to the United States from Liberia after being arrested on May 28, 2010. Agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration operating in disguise allegedly exposed his criminal intentions to transport a large batch of cocaine.

Yaroshenko denied all charges against him as fabricated, describing his arrest as a provocation.

Russian officials and Yaroshenko’s family have requested his extradition to Russia on numerous occassions.