NEW YORK, July 4 (RAPSI) - A US judge has refused to accept documents proving that the US secret services' hunt for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko in Ukraine was illegal, lawyer Alexei Tarasov told RIA Novosti on the phone from Oklahoma City on Thursday.

Tarasov believes that Yaroshenko's defense, fighting to overrule his 20-year drug trafficking sentence by an American court, will only be able to submit the evidence with support from Russia and Ukraine.

"In fact, the only possibility for these documents to be accepted by the court is with the support of official arguments from the Russian or the Ukrainian Government - by their foreign ministries, as far as I understand," Tarasov said.

On Wednesday Court of Appeals Judge Reena Raggi rejected the documents provided by the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office and the attorney's letter which stated that the US special services' secret operation in Ukraine against Yaroshenko was not authorized by Kiev and was therefore illegal.

Thus the full court will not consider the documents presented by Yaroshenko's defense, including the letter from the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office to US Attorney General Eric Holder.

"The prosecution has presented false and trumped evidence, claiming there was authorization from Ukraine. But this is not true," Tarasov said.

The motion for the full court to review the case remains in effect. Depending on the ruling, Yaroshenko may apply for a transfer to Russia to serve his sentence.

"According to the procedure, we will be entitled to file this application if the request for review is rejected by full court," Tarasov said.

Yaroshenko and Nigerian Chigbo Peter Umeh were arrested in Liberia in an undercover operation in May 2010. Shortly after, both were flown to the United States. In April 2011, Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years in prison for colluding to smuggle cocaine into the United States. He was caught after replying to an advert posted by DEA agents who claimed they were selling a cargo plane for $1.

Yaroshenko pleaded innocent during the trial. He said his poor English prevented him from understanding the nature of the deal. He said he did want to buy a plane, but did not plan to use it to transport drugs.