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Negotiations on Butina transfer from US prison to Russia may begin soon

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said that she is not satisfied with the judgement imposed on Butina

KHANTY-MANSIYSK, June 14. /TASS/. Negotiations on convicted Russian citizen Maria Butina’s transfer from the US to Russia may start soon, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova told TASS on Friday, citing Maria’s father, Valery Butin.

"Her lawyer and father [Valery Butin], with whom I maintain contact, say that the imprisonment conditions are rather satisfactory. They expect that the procedure for her possible transfer to Russia will be launched in the near future," Moskalkova said in response to the question on whether she asked about the current conditions of Butina’s imprisonment in the US.

She added that she is not satisfied with the judgement imposed on Butina. "After Butina had made a plea deal, she was given minor sentence. However, I am personally dissatisfied with the fact that [the court] did not limit itself to the actually served sentence," the human rights commissioner noted.

Butina was arrested in Washington on July 15, 2018, 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. Moscow denounced the charges brought against Butina as fabricated and demanded that she be released from custody. On April 26, the Russian was sentenced to 1.5 years of imprisonment.