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Jailed Russian pilot may join lawsuit against prison authorities, lawyer says

Yaroshenko earlier filed a request for early release, citing the coronavirus threat

NEW YORK, July 3. /TASS/. The defense team of Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, jailed in the United States, are studying his health records to justify a lawsuit against the authorities of a federal correctional institution in Danbury, Connecticut, Yaroshenko’s lawyer Alexei Tarasov told TASS on Friday.

"We are studying Konstantin Yaroshenko’s health records, which run about 500 pages," he said. "The work is likely to be completed next week, and after that we will make a decision on joining a lawsuit against the prison authorities over the risk for inmates to contract the coronavirus," the lawyer said.

Yaroshenko earlier filed a request for early release, citing the coronavirus threat. In April, the prison authorities informed the Russian that his request had been denied.

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.

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