NEW YORK, August 15 (RAPSI) - The New York Court of Appeals has rejected the motion for the full court to review the case of Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugs smuggling, RIA Novosti reported on Thursday.

At this stage Yaroshenko can apply to the Supreme Court of the United States, but it's unknown yet how he will act.

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.

In mid-May, his lawyers forwarded their arguments to the appeals court. They insisted that the verdict be overturned due to a lack of evidence and asked the court to consider new documents about Yaroshenko's torture in Liberia and illegal actions taken by US special services in Ukraine.

On June 10, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York rejected his appeal against a 20-year sentence for drug trafficking. The court ruled that, in accordance with the law, neither cruelty on the part of the police nor kidnapping by government agents can be considered sufficient grounds for appealing a verdict.