Yaroshenko Complains About Tightened Detention Conditions, Seeks Prison Transfer - Wife

The wife of Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who has been serving a 20-year term in a US jail, told Sputnik on Monday that her husband complained about the lack of medical care and the toughening of incarceration conditions, seeking transfer to another detention facility

ROSTOV-ON-DON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2019) - The wife of Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who has been serving a 20-year term in a US jail, told Sputnik on Monday that her husband complained about the lack of medical care and the toughening of incarceration conditions, seeking transfer to another detention facility.

"The issue of medical care is not being resolved, and the prison rules have been tightened on the whole," Viktoria Yaroshenko said.

She specified that Konstantin had been suffering from stomach problems and a toothache. Meanwhile, "he is not given medicine, and even a doctor does not examine him."

According to Viktoria, the prison is now headed by a new director.

"[The conditions] have become even worse ... Evening walks were canceled, as well as [purchasing at the local] store is banned ... The searches have become more frequent; a lot is seized, even hygiene products," she added.

The woman noted that her husband was therefore seeking a transfer to another detention facility, adding that he had already sent a relevant request to the Russian Consulate General in New York, with the diplomats seeking permission to visit the Russian national in prison on Wednesday.

Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2011 on charges of conspiring to deliver more than $100 million worth of cocaine to the United States. The pilot was captured in Liberia in 2010 and transferred to the United States, prompting protests from Russia.

In January 2016, Yaroshenko underwent an unscheduled surgery and could barely walk afterward because of severe pain. A US doctor later said the surgery was botched. The pilot had another surgery in December of 2017 that went well, according to his wife Victoria.

In June 2018, Yaroshenko was transferred from the Fort Dix prison in the US state of New Jersey to the Danbury correctional facility in Connecticut. According to Viktoria, the conditions in the Danbury prison were much worse than in Fort Dix.