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Butina's attorneys request judge to lift charges against her

The 29-year-old Maria Butina was arrested in Washington D.C. in July

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

Maria Butina

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

WASHINGTON, November 16. /TASS/. The defense team of Maria Butina, a Russian citizen arrested in the United States, requested the judge to lift charges against her fully or in part.

According to documents, available in the database of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, defense attorneys request the judge "to dismiss the indictment (or one of the counts thereof), or to compel election between the multiplicitous counts."

"The indictment is constitutionally infirm because it is overly broad and functions unconstitutionally as applied to Maria Butina," the document reads.

Butina case

The 29-year-old Maria Butina was arrested in Washington D.C. 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 was charged with 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.

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