Earlier, Yaroshenko's lawyer, Alexey Tarasov, told Sputnik that Yaroshenko believed he had the coronavirus and asserted that all the prisoners in the cell had become infected. According to the lawyer, the pilot said his cellmate had died from COVID-19. Russia's consulate general in New York questioned the Danbury correctional facility, where Yaroshenko is kept, about the situation with the coronavirus in the facility and about the Russian man's condition.
"In connection with the information about the deterioration in the state of Connecticut of the sanitary and epidemiological situation associated with the spread of coronavirus infection, we requested the Danbury Federal Correctional Institution to provide data on the health of pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko. In response, the prison administration said the Russian was sent for medical examination," Topolsky said.
"We expect it to be carried out immediately, and all necessary medical assistance will be provided to Konstantin Yaroshenko," he said, adding that the consulate "keeps the situation under control."
Yaroshenko was arrested in Liberia in May 2010 on suspicion of drug trafficking. A year later he was extradited to the United States and sentenced to 20 years in prison for taking part in a conspiracy to smuggle a large amount of drugs into the country. He has denied all charges.