"The prison doctor who deprived my husband of his last teeth said that deciding on whether to make or not to make implants is not within his competence. He only said that Russian authorities must talk to the prison authorities and ask them to take Konstantin to a private clinic to carry out an operation. And looking at US prices, implanting one tooth costs around $900. We do not have enough for an entire jaw, but we will try to save up at least some money so he eat," Yaroshenko said in an interview with Russia's Izvestia newspaper.
According to the pilot, he has been provided with a wax jaw that is unsuitable to eat with.
According to Yaroshenko, his health has long been neglected by the prison authorities. In a written interview with Sputnik in March, Yaroshenko accused New Jersey’s Fort Dix prison of denying him prescribed post-operation medicines and painkillers after he underwent surgery in January. Yaroshenko was operated on at a hospital in Trenton, New Jersey, after years of deteriorating health and complaints about severe pain while in prison.
The pilot's dental problems began in Liberia, where he was tortured by Liberia security services that abducted him before handing over to US authorities, according to his wife, who added that she, along with Yaroshenko's mother, plan to ask the Russian Foreign Ministry to help with providing the pilot with medical treatment.
Yaroshenko was detained in Liberia in 2010 during a US sting operation conducted in West Africa, and was transferred to the United States. The US authorities sentenced him to 20 years in prison on charges of smuggling cocaine.
Russian authorities have repeatedly expressed concern over the circumstances of Yaroshenko's arrest and the poor conditions of his detention. Yaroshenko started complaining of health problems in February 2014.
