Russia asks US for return of convicted pilot

Russia has asked the United States for the return of a pilot who was convicted of drug smuggling and sentenced by a US court to 20 years in prison, the Russian justice minister said Thursday, AFP reports. Konstantin Yaroshenko was arrested in Liberia in May 2010 for drug trafficking then transferred to the United States, where he was sentenced in September last year. "We have sent a request for Yaroshenko's transfer back to Russia," Justice Minister Alexandre Konovalov told Russian television RT. "Russian citizens must serve their sentences in their own country," he said. Russia is also seeking the return of Viktor Bout, sentenced by the US in April 2012 to 25 years in prison for arms trafficking. Moscow has repeatedly denounced Bout's prosecution and has pledged to do all it can to secure his return to Russia. Konovalov said the transfers could happen under the European convention of prisoners, ratified by both the US and Russia. Bout inspired the arms dealer played by Nicolas Cage in the film "Lord of War" and has been dubbed the "Merchant of Death" in the US. He was sentenced in April after being found guilty of conspiring to sell arms to anti-US guerrillas in Colombia.