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Russia-US spy scandal

Father of Russian jailed in US plans to meet her upon her return home

The jail release is set for October 25

Maria Butina AP Photo/File

Maria Butina

© AP Photo/File

BARNAUL, October 18. /TASS/. The father of Russian national Maria Butina, jailed in the US, will fly to Moscow to meet his daughter, who is expected to be released from prison on October 25, Valery Butin himself told TASS on Friday.

Read also

Butina’s sentence reduced by 10 days

"She is expected to be released on October 25, but it is hard to say when she will return, she will first arrive in Moscow, but the date of her return and the number of her flight will be kept secret until the very last moment," he said. "Let’s hope that she will be put on a flight to Moscow on October 25 as it was promised… I will meet her there… I will fly there and wait for her," the father added.

According to Valery Butin, it will take Maria some time to get to an airport that operates flights to Russia.

"Clearly, it will be a matter of days, and wait is all we can do," Butin said, adding that Maria was fine.

Butina case

Maria Butina, 30, went to the United States for a college course. In the spring of 2018, she obtained a master’s degree in international relations from American University. She 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. On April 26, the Russian was sentenced to 18 months in prison. An official at the US Federal Bureau of Prisons earlier told TASS that the Russian would be released on October 25.

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