Butina also
"expressed opinion that she is pursued for her political views".
WASHINGTON, July 27.
/TASS/. Staff members of the Russian Embassy in the US visited on Thursday
alleged Russian agent Maria Butina, who complained about food in the
Correctional Treatment Facility in Washington, the diplomatic mission said on
its Facebook page.
Butina feels normal,
but "she has problems with food," the embassy said. The Russian
citizen is denied the right to walk and another inconvenience is that the
prison guards turn on the light every 15 minutes at night.
"We will take
steps to release Maria. The next visit is scheduled for Thursday, August 2. We
will continue providing her with consular assistance and every support,"
the diplomats said.
Butina
"expressed opinion that she is pursued for her political views."
"Soon Maria will
be allowed to make phone calls. She will be also able to get correspondence
sent to the prison’s address," the diplomatic mission said.
"Maria asked to
say hello to her parents, noting that she is determined to prove her
innocence," the statement said.
Butina’s case
The 29-year-old Maria
Butina was arrested in Washington on July 15, on the eve of the Helsinki summit
between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump.
The Russian gun rights activist faces the charges of conspiracy for conducting
activities in the interests of a foreign state. The investigators claim she
engaged in these activities without registering as a foreign agent at the US
Department of Justice.
The FBI said Butina
entered the US in August 2016 on a student visa and took up studies at the
American University. She received the master’s degree in international
relations in May 2018, according to her lawyer.
Butina is a member of
the board of the Russian public associations ‘The Right to Guns’. In this
capacity, she attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington in February
2017 where President Donald Trump took part.
On July 21, Russian
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov underlined in his telephone conversation with US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that US actions against Russian citizen Maria
Butina were inadmissible.
Source: ITAR-TASS
27-07-2018
