MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. Moscow demands that the US drop politically motivated charges against Russian national Maria Butina and provide all necessary assistance to her, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday.
"We demand that all necessary assistance is provided to Maria Butina and politically motivated charges are dropped," she noted. "We hope that the global community will pay attention to the US law enforcement agencies’ actions against the Russian citizen that humiliate human dignity."
According to Zakharova, the situation with Russian citizen Maria Butina arrested in the US on July 15 who is facing preposterous charges of acting as an agent of a foreign government gives rise to growing concern.
On August 17, Butina was transferred to another prison without prior notice and put in a solitary cell intended for dangerous recidivists. Prior to that, she was forced to go through the humiliating procedures of personal search, with all personal belongings, including clothes, food and personal hygiene products, taken away, and kept in a quarantine cell for 12 hours without food.
At the same time, any requests from the Russian citizen for immediate medical care were ignored, due to which her health condition has deteriorated.
"Only after other diplomats’ efforts, including a harsh demarche to the Department of State and the US Embassy in Moscow, the searches and personal checks finally stopped," the diplomat went on to say. "Her incarceration conditions have somewhat improved. Butina was transferred to a solitary cell with windows, there the necessary temperature, which meets the requirements, has been maintained. The prison administration promised to allow calls to family members."
"For our part, we will continue work to protect Butina’s rights and legitimate interests," Zakharova stressed.