MOSCOW, April 2 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow demanded on Wednesday that the United States cease its ill-treatment of an ailing Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko, currently serving a lengthy jail sentence in New Jersey.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was still concerned about the conditions at the jail as well as the health of Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot who was convicted in the United States in 2011 on charges of drug trafficking.
"We again strongly demand the US side stop the ill-treatment of Yaroshenko. We expect that measures to improve the situation will finally be taken, as US Secretary of State John Kerry has repeatedly promised," the ministry said.
Howard Solomon, a counselor for political affairs at the US Embassy in Moscow, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday as part of Russia's efforts to ensure due medical assistance for Yaroshenko, who previously complained of pre-heart attack symptoms.
The Russian Consulate General in New York tried to organize a health examination by a Russian physician in February, but US officials effectively rejected the request by demanding the doctor first obtain a local medical license.
Yaroshenko was detained in Liberia in 2010 after replying to an advertisement posted by undercover agents of the US Drug Enforcement Agency that claimed to be selling a cargo plane for $1. He was later flown to the United States.
The Russian pilot denied the charges, but was nevertheless convicted and sentenced in April 2011 for colluding to smuggle cocaine into the United States.
