By IANS,
Moscow : A former Russian pilot, who is serving 20 years in prison in the US for attempted drug trafficking, has complained of racial and religious discrimination against him.
Konstantin Yaroshenko, being held in the Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix near New York, claimed that his life is in jeopardy and has called on the Russian justice ministry to intervene urgently, RIA Novosti reported citing the Izvestia daily.
Yaroshenko said he was concerned about the “particular attitude” two other inmates and the administration have towards him.
He was arrested in Liberia in northwest Africa along with Nigerian national Chigbo Peter Umeh in an undercover operation in May 2010. Both were taken to the US where Umeh was sentenced to 30 years and Yaroshenko to 20 years behind bars. The sentence was appealed in September.
The Russian foreign ministry confirmed the submission of Yaroshenko’s appeal. He also requested his repatriation to his country.
Only one Russian convicted in the US, former UN diplomat Vladimir Kuznetsov, sentenced for money laundering, has ever returned home.