WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2019) An American lawyer to Russian national Konstantin Yaroshenko told Sputnik that he had not yet seen any response from major US and international human rights groups to a call for help to his client but remained hopeful that the Russian ambassador in Washington's appeal would not remain unanswered.
"These organizations are well known for advocating for people whose rights are violated, but as far as the Russians, our compatriots are concerned, I'm yet to see precedents of them getting involved," Alexey Tarasov said. "I hope that it [ambassador's letter] will resonate. It is an official appeal on behalf of the Russian state, after all."
Russia's top diplomat in Washington Anatoly Antonov in an open letter to Amnesty International, Equal Justice Initiative, Human Rights Watch, The Marshall Project, ACLU National Prison Project, The Sentencing Project, Southern Poverty Law Center and World Justice Project urged them to review Yaroshenko's case and provide any assistance for his medical and legal issues.
Seven out of eight addressees of the ambassador's letter did not respond to Sputnik's query regarding Yaroshenko, who was captured in Liberia in 2010 and sentenced to 20 years in jail in the United States on charges of conspiring to import drugs, which he denied. A spokesperson for Human Rights Watch replied that he had "checked with colleagues and we don't have anyone who can comment."
Asked if there were responses to the ambassador's appeal, Tarasov said, "So far, unfortunately, this is unknown to me."
Antonov later reached out to the same groups with a request for help in improving the prison conditions of Roman Seleznev. The Russian national, sentenced in the United States to 27 years for cyber crimes, is a disabled victim of the 2011 terrorist attack in Morocco and, according to the ambassador's letter, has to take medication and remain under the care of physicians.
