Russian accused of spying to be released from US prison in Florida

Russian gun advocate, Maria Butina, also known for building a framework of high-level contacts in the US before being arrested on the charges of spying, will return to Russia after she is released from a prison in the state of Florida. Butina is the only Russian national to be arrested in relation to the investigation looking into Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential elections. Maria built connections with the National Rifle Association that led to her meeting with the US President Donald Trump, before the 2016 presidential elections.

A Russian spy?

Butina stated that she wanted to build and establish a good relationship between Russia and the United States of America. A university student in Washington D.C., Maria was taken into custody in the year 2018 on allegations of being a spy with no proof that she was in contact with any of the Russian spy agencies.

In a court hearing before her sentencing, Maria apologised and said that she was not a bad person the way media outlets were portraying her to be. Although, Maria entered a plea deal based on the accusation that she was an illegal foreign agent who was not registered. She was awarded a prison term of 1 year 6 months out of which more than half was tagged as a sentence already served.

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Just a regular university student

In an interview, Maria stated that alongside graduating in politics, she only wanted to be involved in the subject of civil diplomacy. In addition to this, Butina stated that she was not a person who would hide her love for either Russia or the United States of America and also said that she was just trying to advocate for a peaceful environment. Maria's lawyer did not respond to questions about what the gun advocate's next action will be but stated that she would be returning to her home country, Russia.

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Although, it is still not clear whether she was a Russian spy with a motive of manipulating and meddling with the 2016 presidential elections or she was just a university student trying to build a diplomatic bridge between the two countries who became a target and fell victim to the level of politics between both the countries.

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A gun-rights advocate

Butina established a relationship with the US through her Russian gun-rights group and the NRA (National Rifle Association). She had played the role of a host to the top NRA officials in Russia and also attended American political events that led her to meet powerful Republicans.

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(With inputs from agencies)