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MARIA BUTINA'S CASE

Butina considering possibility of appeal

On April 26, a court in Washington sentenced Butina to 18 months behind bars

© EPA-EFE/Press Service of Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation

MOSCOW, April 30. /TASS/. Russian national Maria Butina convicted in the United States is considering the possibility of appealing against her sentence, as she herself said during a telephone news conference on Tuesday.

"We are considering the possibility of filing an appeal," she said.

Butina did not rule out that she would ask for parole in due time.

On April 26, a court in Washington sentenced Butina to 18 months behind bars.

Butina case

Maria Butina, 30, was arrested in Washington DC on July 15, 2018, right before the Helsinki meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump. The US Department of Justice said that she was suspected of acting "as an agent of Russia inside the United States by developing relationships with US persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation."

On December 13, Butina pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the US law governing foreign agents operating in the country and signed a plea bargain.

Butina went to the United States for a college course. Last spring she obtained a master’s degree in international relations from American University.

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