MOSCOW, September 3 (RAPSI) - Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova announced Monday that she had forwarded a petition over Maria Butina’s detention in the U.S. to the country’s Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Butina was arrested in the United States on suspicion of espionage in July. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) claims that the woman was fronting for Russia and forged friendly relationships with American officials. She was placed in detention.  

In late August, Moskalkova sent petitions concerning Butina’s arrest and detention to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Council of Europe Secretary General and OSCE.

According to the Russian ombudsman, Butina, who is accused by American authorities of illegal activity as a foreign agent, must be released from jail. The ombudsman’s motion for the Russian national’s release was submitted to the U.S. ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman.

Moskalkova calls Butina’s detention conditions inhuman. According to the ombudsman, the woman was placed in a separate cell and she is often in handcuffs. Moreover, Butina was repeatedly subject to a strip search. The human rights commissioner believes that the detained woman can give any evidence and even incriminate herself in such a situation.