WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) A defense lawyer for detained Russian citizen Maria Butina has requested her release ahead of her trial in the United States on charges of acting as a foreign agent, a court document said on Friday.
"Defendant Maria Butina requests that she be released pending trial into the PSA High Intensity Supervision Program on a home detention basis with electronic monitoring," the document said.
Butina, 29, a recent graduate of the American University in Washington, was arrested in Washington, DC, on July 15 on charges of conspiracy and acting as a foreign agent - charges that she firmly denies. Russia has strongly criticized the US government for detaining Butina and has characterized the accusations against her as "clearly groundless."
On July 18, a US judge rejected a previous request from Butina's lawyers to release her on bail, citing the risk that she could flee the country to escape justice.
In the new request filed on Friday, defense attorney Robert Driscoll argued that the government's claims about Butina being a flight risk were exaggerated and not based on facts or evidence. Driscoll also noted the lack of evidence to prove that Butina was indeed conected to Russian intelligence services, as US prosecutors have alleged.
Butina's lawyer stressed that his client came to the United States as a student and had no professional relationship with high-profile Russian lawmaker Aleksandr Torshin, as prosecutors claim. Driscoll also argued in the filing that US authorities have tried to stretch the law by claiming that if a foreign student makes contacts with people in her native country, she must therefore be an "agent" for this country.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has called Butina's ongoing detention unacceptable. The Russian Embassy in the United States on Friday stressed that the young woman was experiencing psychological pressure in prison, including frequent nighttime checks, strip searches and denial of medical care.
