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Russian diplomats visit jailed Maria Butina

Butina is still being held in a solitary confinement cell

Maria Butina Alexandria Detention Center via AP

Maria Butina

© Alexandria Detention Center via AP

WASHINGTON, December 20. /TASS/. Employees of the Russian Embassy in Washington have visited Russian Maria Butina, who was arrested in the US and is still being held in a solitary confinement cell in total isolation, the Russian embassy wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

MARIA BUTINA'S CASE

"Diplomats of our Embassy visited Maria Butina. Our fellow citizen is still in a solitary confinement in complete isolation. She has spent over three months in this detention regime. We demanded the prison administration to show the Russian citizen humane treatment and stop unjustifiably harsh imprisonment of Maria Butina. We continue to fight for her speedy release," the report says.

On December 13 Butina pled guilty to one of the charges and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors.

The Russian pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the law governing foreign agents operating in the US. She earlier signed a plea deal with prosecutors. The court accepted her conviction and scheduled the next hearings for February 12. The date of the verdict announcement was not declared at a prosecutor’s request, who said that Butina agreed to cooperate with investigators, and this process may take up some time.

Butina case

Butina was arrested in Washington on July 15, ahead of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Helsinki. The 30-year-old Russian was charged with collusion for conducting activity on US territory to benefit the Russian government. In addition, the American intelligence service state that the Russian conducted this activity without being registered with the US Department of Justice as an agent of a foreign state.

In a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on July 21, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov demanded that Butina be released from custody as soon as possible and called accusations against her fabricated.

Butina came to the US to study. She received a master’s degree at the American University, where she studied foreign affairs.

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