Russian activist Maria Butina hopes to publish book about U.S. prison sentence, father says

Russian activist Maria Butina hopes to release a book about being incarcerated in the United States, her father said in an interview published by state-media Tuesday.

“I hope this will happen, and she hopes that she’ll be able to talk about all the difficult moments, as well as all the good moments that she has experienced there,” said Valery Butin, TASS reported.

“We are talking about publishing a book. I’m not sure whether it can be done, but the intention is there,” he said.

Butina, 30, is currently serving an 18-month sentence in the U.S. for conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent. She was arrested last July in Washington and she is currently scheduled to be released from prison November 5.

Federal prosecutors in the U.S. alleged that Butina, a gun-rights activist, infiltrated groups including the National Rifle Association in an effort to advance Russian interests. She has denied spying for Russia and claimed instead to be “building peace” between the former Cold War foes.

Lawyers for Butina announced last month that they would be appealing her 18-month prison sentence. More recently, Alexander Malkevich, the president of Russia’s Foundation for the Protection of National Values, said Butina’s lawyers are attempting to raise roughly $659,000 to pay for her legal bills, TASS reported Tuesday.