Russian Diplomats Helped Butina Get Better Food In US Prison - Foreign Ministry

Maria Butina, a Russian national held in US custody on charges of spying, started getting better prison food thanks to the action taken by Russian diplomats, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

ST PETERBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) Maria Butina, a Russian national held in US custody on charges of spying, started getting better prison food thanks to the action taken by Russian diplomats, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

Due to the efforts made by Russian diplomats, the US authorities "agreed to enhance to some extent the conditions of detention of the [Russian] citizen, in particular by improving her diet," Zakharova said at a briefing.

She reiterated Russia's call for "political prisoner" Butina's immediate release, describing the accusations against her as fabricated.

Butina, a recent graduate from American University 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.

Butina's sister Marina said on Monday that her family had started a fund for donations to get enough money for Butina's defense.