In 2011, Russian pilot Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years in prison for allegedly conspiring to smuggle drugs into the United States. He was captured in Liberia in 2010 and transferred to the United States without an official extradition procedure, prompting protests from Russia.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A US judge denied Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko's request to reduce his prison sentence by five years, Yaroshenko's lawyer Alexey Tarasov told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"A trial judge in New York denied Konstantin Yaroshenko request to reduce his sentence from 20 years to 15 years," Tarasov said.

Mr Tarasov pointed out that Yaroshenko submitted himself the written request asking for a reduction of the prison sentence and noted the legal basis for the request.

"The court could have decreased Yaroshenko’s sentence based on an amendment to the US sentencing guidelines for narcotics-related crimes," Tarasov said. "But at the end of the day, the court concluded that Yaroshenko’s crime was such that he cannot pretend to any reduction."

READ MORE: Russian Pilot Yaroshenko May Be Transferred to New Prison in US

In March, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said he received a letter from Yaroshenko asking the mission to help persuade the US authorities to provide him with medical care. Antonov also said Yaroshenko had complained about the very poor conditions in the prison.

Yaroshenko first complained of health problems in early 2014 at the Fort Dix prison. The detention facility allowed a health check only after numerous requests by his lawyers and the Russian authorities.