PARIS, July 20. /TASS/. French prison authorities have denied basketball player Daniil Kasatkin the opportunity to engage in sports activities, his lawyer Frederic Belot told TASS.

"To this day, he has not been granted permission to access the sports yard, even though it is located right outside his cell window," he stated.

According Kasatkin’s legal representative, the athlete doesn’t speak French and cannot communicate with the prison administration.

In a letter to his attorney, Kasatkin recalled that sport is his profession and before being arrested he was supposed to sign a contract for another season, but now his career "is in jeopardy because of absurd accusations."

According to Belot, Kasatkin cannot get in touch with his parents. "He worries about his parents because he hasn’t had a chance to talks to them after the arrest," the lawyer said. "Daniil prays to God for his family."

Kasatkin was detained at the Roissy - Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris at the request of the United States on June 21. The US suspects him of involvement in a hacker network that tried to extort American companies and federal agencies.

The Investigative Chamber at the Paris court, having considered on July 9 a request for release filed by Kasatkin's lawyer, decided to detain the athlete after lengthy deliberations, despite assurances given by his lawyer that he would stay in France and not skip out on his bail.

A spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Paris told TASS earlier that Russian diplomats had been granted consular access to the athlete and would soon request another visit.

Meanwhile a source in the Paris prosecutor’s office told TASS that the US side had not yet presented any documents for his extradition to the United States.