NEW YORK (Sputnik) — Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko's legal team anticipates a prompt response from US President Donald Trump's administration in regards to the filed request to turn the case over to Russia, attorney Alexei Tarasov told Sputnik on Friday.
"The request has been filed back in October or November. The regular processing time is around three months, so we hoped to receive a reply from the previous [US] administration," Tarasov said. "However, we are still waiting. We expect to hear something soon."
The mother of Russian jailed pilot, sentenced to 20 years in the US prison, told Sputnik on Monday that she planned to send a letter to US President Donald Trump asking him to release of her son.
Media reports suggested that Trump might consider the return of the jailed pilot to Russia.
According to Russian Foreign Ministry Commissioner Konstantin Dolgov, the ministry will resume active work on the issue of the jailed pilot after Trump assumed office on Friday.
Yaroshenko, sentenced to prison for conspiring to import more than $100 million worth of cocaine into the United States, was arrested in Liberia in 2010 and handed over to the US authorities. The pilot has claimed he was mistreated while in US custody. Yaroshenko has also said his health suffered significantly as he is denied proper medical care.
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