US-convicted Russian operative Maria Butina visits Navalny in jail

Maria Butina, who was convicted of being an unregistered Russian agent in the U.S., reportedly visited Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in jail on Thursday.

Butina visited the jail with Kremlin-funded RT television network to report on the condition of Navalny and the prison after Navalny said he was being sleep deprived and denied medical attention, Navalny’s team said in a post on his Twitter account.

Navalny’s account called Butina a “wretched propagandist” and said she “screamed” about how good the prison was during the visit. The opposition leader’s team claimed she also only interviewed “activists” who preached “how good everything is” in the prison, according to Navalny’s Twitter.

Navalny’s team said he lectured Butina when she visited the prison for her work at the Kremlin-funded outlet.

Butina was rewarded with a job at the Russian broadcasting network, formerly called Russia Today, after she was released from jail in the U.S. under the charge of conspiracy.

The convicted Russian agent released a book called “Prison Diary” last year in which she criticized conditions during her time in U.S. prison, The Washington Post noted.

Navalny has reportedly lost 18 pounds since being in prison and has announced a hunger strike since he says the prison is refusing to allow him to see a medical professional to address back and leg pain.

Prison officials claim they have not denied him medical attention or deprived Navalny of sleep, but Navalny’s team has not heard back from the prison about allowing a doctor of their choice to evaluate his condition.

Navalny is serving a 2 ½ year prison sentence for violating his parole when he went to Germany to get medical treatment after a poisoning attack that Navalny says was led by the Russian government.