MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, jailed in the United States, called himself Tuesday "a small pawn in a big game," making it impossible to have an honest legal battle.
"Honest legal battle is impossible in a corrupt system. I am just a small pawn in a big game of the US. It is not a democracy, it is a totalitarian system," Yaroshenko said in an audio statement presented at a press conference in Moscow.
Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot sentenced to 20 years in prison for allegedly conspiring to import more than $100 million worth of cocaine into the United States, was arrested in Liberia in 2010 and subsequently extradited to the United States.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly expressed concern over the circumstances of Yaroshenko's arrest and the poor conditions of his detention.
