Pilot Yaroshenko in U.S continues to experience health issues - mother
ROSTOV-ON-DON. April 14 (Interfax) - The health of Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, serving time in the U.S. prison of Fort Dix, remains unsatisfactory, Yaroshenko's mother Lyubov Yaroshenko told Interfax on Monday.
"Konstantin continues experiencing serious chest pains. According to him, he suffered a stroke in early February and is trying to cope with its consequences now," Lyubov Yaroshenko said.
Essentially, the pilot is self-medicating - he buys pain-killers in the prison pharmacy in order to cope somehow with pain being experienced, Lyubov Yaroshenko said.
"Konstantin needs medical assistance and a diagnosis. What the Fort Dix prison head wrote in his response in regards to a respiratory infection my son allegedly had is not an argument of truth for me. The prison administration still refuses to confirm the diagnosis with medical documents, so it is difficult to believe them," Lyubov Yaroshenko said.
Konstantin Yaroshenko was detained in Liberia on March 28, 2010 on the accusation of preparing transportation of a large batch of cocaine and was then deported to the United States. A U.S. court sentenced the Russian citizen to 20 years in prison on September 7, 2011.
The pilot's health deteriorated in early February. According to his relatives and lawyer, Yaroshenko experienced chest pains and had trouble breathing.
Yaroshenko's defense has received a response by the prison administration about his health.
The prison had stated in their reply that the pilot did have chest issues but they were not related to cardiology. The letter said that prison doctors diagnosed him with a severe respiratory infection during the week, when he started complaining about serious chest pains.
