Russian Citizen Butina Barred From Going Outside for Over 2 Months in US Jail - Father

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2018) Russian national Maria Butina, jailed in the United States on charges of being an unregistered foreign agent, has been prohibited from going outside for over two months since she was detained, her father Valery Butin said in an interview released Friday.

"They do not allow her to go outside. Such a pressure is continuing for over two months," Butina's father told the Russian Izvestia newspaper.

He added that Butina was forced to stay inside a solitary confinement cell for 22 hours a day and was allowed to talk to other detained individuals only through a cell door window. Moreover, the jailed Russian woman is allowed to call her relatives only at 01:00 a.m. local time (05:00 GMT).

"I believe that all this is aimed at making Maria break down in a bid to make her plead guilty. There is no other reason [for such actions against Butina]. All the accusations against her are false, Maria intends to prove she is innocent," the arrested woman's father stated.

Butina, a recent student and a political activist, was arrested in Washington, DC in mid-July on suspicions of acting as an agent for a foreign government. She has denied the accusations. Butina, who faces up to 15 years in jail, is now being held in a prison in the US city of Alexandria, Virginia.

On Monday, Butina's sister Marina said that the woman's family had launched a fund in her support, trying to find some financial aid for the prisoner's defense.