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Pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko once again meets with family

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said earlier that the recent meeting of US-jailed Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko with his wife and daughter gives grounds for optimism

NEW YORK, August 26. /TASS/. The wife and daughter of US-jailed Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, met with him for the second time on Saturday in Danberry Prison (Connecticut), the pilot’s wife Victoria Yaroshenko told. TASS.

According to her, on Saturday the family did not discuss further steps, including possibly sending another letter to US President Donald Trump with a request to release Yaroshenko. "We did not touch upon the topic of our further steps. We have not seen each other for seven years, and we have something to talk about," the pilot's daughter noted.

In turn, the pilot's daughter clarified that the meeting with the father lasted about six hours, and expressed concern about his health condition. According to her, Yaroshenko has signs of premature aging, has problems with his stomach and teeth, and allergy attacks. "I would like my father to look better," she said.

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said earlier that the recent meeting of US-jailed Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko with his wife and daughter gives grounds for optimism.

"The news that Konstantin Yaroshenko, who is serving a prison term in a US jail in Connecticut, met with his wife and daughter for the first time in seven years, made me optimistic," she said, describing the US government’s permission for the meeting as "a sign that despite serious differences between our states, we can achieve common ground as far as humanitarian cooperation is concerned."

Moskalkova hopes that US President Donald Trump will find a way to pardon Yaroshenko or swap him for a US citizen jailed in Russia.

Yaroshenko was arrested in Liberia in May 2010 and was later clandestinely transferred to the United States. In September 2011, he was found guilty of conspiring to smuggle a major cocaine shipment into the US, and sentenced to 20 years behind bars. However, Yaroshenko pleaded not guilty, saying that his arrest was a setup and the case was fabricated.

Russian officials and the pilot’s family have persistently requested that Washington extradite him to Russia.

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