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U.S. DOJ does not comment on possibility to transfer pilot Yaroshenko to Russia

"We generally do not comment on requests for prisoner transfers," a DOJ spokesman said

Konstantin Yaroshenko ITAR-TASS

Konstantin Yaroshenko

WASHINGTON, October 15. /TASS/. The U.S. Department of Justice did not comment on the possibility to transfer pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko to Russia to serve his sentence home.

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Ministry: Jailed pilot Yaroshenko may be exchanged for US citizens convicted in Russia

"Thank you for reaching out to us. We generally do not comment on requests for prisoner transfers," a DOJ spokesman said in response to a request to comment on the report that the Russian Justice Ministry sent a request to the United States on the handover of Yaroshenko.

Earlier, Russia’s Justice Ministry said "the request on the transfer of Yaroshenko to Russia has been dispatched to the Russian Foreign Ministry to be transferred via diplomatic channels to the U.S. competent bodies."

Pilot Yaroshenko was arrested in 2010 in Liberia and then taken to the United States. He was sentenced in 2011 to 20 years in prison in the U.S. for allegedly intending to smuggle cocaine. The Russian is serving his sentence in the Fort Dix prison in the state of New Jersey. He denies his guilt.

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