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US-jailed Russian pilot Yaroshenko’s attorneys to ask US court to commute his sentence

The attorney Alexei Tarasov said that the situation in the federal prison in Danbury is worsening again

MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/. Defense attorneys of Russian pilot Viktor Yaroshenko, who is serving a 20-year prison term in a US prison, will go to court with an appeal for commutation of his sentence, his attorney Alexei Tarasov told TASS on Thursday.

"We plan to lodge an appeal for commutation of Yaroshenko’s sentence. My client is facing health risks because of the aggravating coronavirus situation. The situation in the federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, is worsening again. We will file the appeal within days and hope the court will satisfy it and release him prematurely," he said.

According to Tarasov, a quarantine was imposed in Yaroshenko’s prison block last week. Yaroshenko’s wife, Viktoria, told TASS earlier the prison administration had tested the inmates for the coronavirus infection to find seven positive results.

Yaroshenko has serious health problems. Since the time of his detention in 2010, he has lost nearly all his teeth, which has entailed digestion problems. He was finally consulted by a gastroenterologist in September. In February, he complained of problems with his leg but received medical assistance at the prison only after Russian diplomats had interfered into the situation.

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 had been 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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The Russian embassy has not yet commented on the situation

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