There is a possibility of a conviction of Russian citizen Maria Butina, which the US court sentenced to 18 months in prison. This was stated by Russian lawyer Robert Driscoll.
The reason for this could be the recognition of the head of the online retailer Overstock.com Patrick Burne that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation forced him to engage in "political espionage" against Butina. As the 57-year-old multimillionaire noted in an interview with the Washington Examiner, he was in a short romantic relationship with a Russian woman, which ended in March 2016. However, in 2017, the FBI asked to renew them, while the decrees "came from a high enough level."
“After receiving the information from Mr. Burne, I first of all sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice to find out exactly what information he provided to state bodies, and I hope to receive copies of reports on his reports. In the United States, in the case of legal proceedings and criminal prosecution, the state has the obligation to present justifying evidence to the defense, that is, everything that proves the suspect’s innocence or may mitigate the sentence, ”Driscoll said on RT.
According to him, in this case, he did not receive any excuse information. At the same time, the lawyer said that he suspected that someone from the Americans who contacted Butin could work for the FBI, which is why he requested reports of conversations or recordings related to the work of clandestine informants.
“When Patrick told me that he really worked for the FBI, I sent a letter to the Justice Ministry and I hope to get an answer soon. If there really were justifying evidence and they were withheld, this could be a reason for reviewing the sentence imposed or even for reviewing the deal with the prosecution and the conviction. But it’s too early to talk about this - you need to figure it out, ”the lawyer stated.
Driscoll added that Byrne was upset that the authorities described Maria as a person who posed a danger to US national security, since this, in his opinion, was completely wrong.
“According to my feelings after our conversation with him, he was upset about what had happened. If, when they first met, he had some doubts about the motivation of her actions, then by the time she was arrested, he had no doubt that she was not a threat and was not a Russian agent, ”explained the lawyer.
Speaking about the state of Butina, the lawyer said that she was in prison in Tallahassee, Florida, where he had the opportunity to run in the mornings, use the audio player, and communicate with his family in a videoconference mode once a week. In addition, the Russian woman works in the prison kitchen and teaches.
“I believe that in general, her condition is much better than when she was in Alexandria, Virginia. I would not say that she enjoys spending time in Talahassi prison, but I think the situation here is less toxic than during her other stops in the US penitentiary system, ”Driscoll said.
According to him, for now, Butina’s release of freedom is scheduled for October 25, but all necessary steps will be taken so that the Russian woman will be released before this deadline if possible.
Recall that Maria Butina was arrested in the United States on July 15, 2018, on the eve of the summit of the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Helsinki. The Russian woman was accused of violating the law on foreign agents, trying to infiltrate American organizations and using personal connections to influence political processes in the interests of Moscow.
In this case, prosecutors during the consideration of the case recognized that the girl is not an agent of the Russian special services. After a long trial, Maria made a deal with the investigation, partially pleading guilty, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison for "conspiracy to work illegally with a foreign agent."
Initially it was supposed that Butin would be released on November 5, but then, due to the reform of the penitentiary system in the United States, her term was reduced by 10 days, until October 25.
Russian officials have repeatedly stressed that the process against a citizen of Russia is “politically engaged”, and she herself was a victim of internal political clashes in the United States.
“It is not clear why she was convicted, what crime she committed. I think this is the very case that is called "saving a person" or "a struggle for the honor of epaulettes." That is, they took, grabbed, put the girl in jail. And there is nothing to present! Well, nothing to show. But in such a way that it didn’t look completely ridiculous, they gave it, they stuck 18 months to show that she was guilty of something, ”Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the sentence of Butina in April.