Putin appoints Konstantin Yaroshenko, pilot previously sentenced to 20 years behind bars in US on drug smuggling charges, to Russia’s Civic Chamber

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed an order appointing pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko to the Civic Chamber. The document was published on the official legal information portal.

The document lists Yaroshenko as a human rights activist and a public figure.

Konstantin Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years behind bars in the US in September 2011 on drug smuggling charges. He was detained in Liberia in May 2010 and accused of smuggling a large batch of cocaine to the US. The man denies his involvement.

In May 2017, Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova signed an address to US President Donald Trump asking him to pardon Yaroshenko. A year later, her request was denied. In 2019, the US government once again refused to hand over the pilot to Russia.

On 27 April 2022, Yaroshenko was swapped for US student Trevor Reed who was sentenced to nine years behind bars in Russia for assaulting police officers. In 2019, Reed was detained after his neighbours complained of a dispute between him and two women. According to the prosecution, Reed attacked a police car driver and a police officer while en route to the station. The US national said that he had been partying that night, had drunk a lot of vodka and does not remember what happened.