MOSCOW, June 22. /TASS/. The sentence of Russian Maria Butina in the United States has been reduced by 10 days; she will be released on October 25, Head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky said on Saturday.

"Two good news: the lawyers were finally able to appeal, it was accepted for consideration. But, most importantly, Maria’s sentence has been reduced by 10 days, she can be released on October 25, not November 5," Slutsky said.

"We will continue to fight, we will help, we will do everything to free our citizens from foreign prisons," he added.

Butina’s case

Maria Butina, 30, was arrested in Washington DC on July 15, 2018 - prior to 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 a conspiracy to violate the US law governing foreign agents operating in the country and signed a plea agreement. Butina had arrived in the United States for a course of studies. She did a master’s degree at American University, where she studied international relations.

On April 26, a Washington-based court sentenced Butina to 18 months in prison for violating the law on foreign agents.

Moscow insisted that Butina had been arrested on trumped-up charges and demanded her release.