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US-jailed Russian pilot’s health drastically deteriorates, embassy says

Russian diplomats demand urgent medical assistance

Konstantin Yaroshenko TASS

Konstantin Yaroshenko

NEW YORK, February 27. /TASS/. The health of Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who is serving his sentence in a US prison in Connecticut, has drastically deteriorated and Russian diplomats demand urgent medical assistance, the Russian Embassy in the US wrote on its Facebook page.

"In connection with the drastic deterioration in the health of Konstantin Yaroshenko we addressed the U.S. authorities with the request for urgent medical assistance. We expect that he will receive the necessary examination and the treatment will be prescribed immediately. This is a direct responsibility of the American authorities," the press release said.

"For a long time in prison, the health of the Russian citizen has seriously suffered. Embassy diplomats will visit our compatriot in prison shortly," the embassy said.

Konstantin Yaroshenko was convicted in the United States in September 2011 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The pilot was clandestinely transferred to the United States from Liberia, where he was arrested in May 2010. Agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration operating under cover allegedly exposed Yaroshenko’s criminal intention to transport a large batch of cocaine. He pleaded not guilty, condemning his arrest as a provocation and the whole case as an utter set-up.

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