Russian Justice Ministry Prepared Request To US To Hand Over Yaroshenko To Home Country

The Russian Justice Ministry has prepared a request to the US authorities to hand over Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who is serving a jail term in the United States, to Moscow so that he serves the remaining term in his home country, the ministry's press service told Sputnik on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd April, 2019) The Russian Justice Ministry has prepared a request to the US authorities to hand over Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who is serving a jail term in the United States, to Moscow so that he serves the remaining term in his home country, the ministry's press service told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"On April 22, 2019, the Russian Justice Ministry sent a request concerning Konstantin Yaroshenko to the Russian Foreign Ministry which, in its turn, would deliver it [the request] to the US Department of Justice via diplomatic channels," the statement said.

Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the United States back in 2011 for allegedly conspiring to smuggle drugs into the country. The pilot was captured in the West African country of Liberia in 2010 and transferred to the United States without official extradition procedure, prompting protests from Russia.

The imprisoned Russian pilot has repeatedly protested the conditions in which he has been kept, stressing that they resulted in his health deterioration. He also equaled the conditions to torture.

In March this year, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said he received a letter from Yaroshenko who asked for help in persuading US authorities to provide him with medical care. Antonov noted that Yaroshenko has complained of "very poor" prison conditions.

Last week, Russian High Commissioner for Human Rights Tatiana Moskalkova said that Russia would request that the jailed pilot be transferred to another US prison once Moscow can confirm that the facility would provide him with adequate medical services.