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US-jailed Russian pilot tells diplomats about plans to seek transfer to another prison

Yaroshenko was arrested in Liberia in 2010

NEW YORK, February 14. /TASS/. Russian diplomats have visited Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who is serving a 20-year sentence in the United States, in a prison in Danbury, Connecticut. He informed them of his plans to seek transfer to another correctional institution, the Russian Consulate General in New York reported on Facebook.

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Russian pilot remains in Danbury prison in US despite transfer request, wife says

The diplomatic mission noted that a riot occurred in that prison some time ago. "The Russian national said his health condition was satisfactory, although he has numerous health-related complaints because of chronic diseases. He strongly denied his involvement in the riot," the statement runs.

According to the Russian Consulate General, Yaroshenko "confirmed that he plans to file a request for his transfer to another prison in order to improve his incarceration conditions." "We keep a close eye on the situation and will continue providing the Russian citizen with all necessary consular assistance. We will also seek to ensure that medical assistance is provided to him," the diplomatic mission stressed.

Yaroshenko’s Defense Attorney Alexei Tarasov earlier told TASS that the prison administration suspected the Russian citizen of involvement in organizing the unrest in the correctional institution for no apparent reason. Due to that, Yaroshenko was summoned for questioning.

Yaroshenko case

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.

The Russian national was first sent to Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution, but in mid-June 2018 he was first transferred to a transit prison in Brooklyn, New York and then to the Danbury prison, which holds more than 1,400 inmates. Russian officials and the pilot’s family have on numerous occasions requested that Washington extradite him to Russia.

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