A Russian pilot jailed in America for drug dealing will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a U.S. appeals court verdict against him, attorneys for Konstantin Yaroshenko said.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on April 20 rejected defense arguments, backed by the Russian government, and upheld a lower court's sentencing of Yaroshenko to 20 years in prison on drug charges.
"We consider this decision baseless, and will seek to overturn it, even if it requires complaining to the U.S. Supreme Court," defense attorney Aleksei Tarasov told Rossiya-24 television.
Yaroshenko was arrested in Liberia on May 28, 2010, on the charge of planning to transport a large amount of cocaine. He was deported to the United States, where on September 7, 2011, a court sentenced him to 20 years in prison.