MOSCOW (AP) — The father of a Russian woman jailed in the U.S. on charges that she tried to infiltrate U.S. political organizations as a covert Russian agent says the U.S. authorities have eased her prison regime.

Maria Butina has pleaded not guilty to the charges and Russia has dismissed them as "preposterous." Russia's Foreign Ministry has complained that Butina has suffered from "inhumane" conditions in U.S. solitary confinement that jeopardized her health, urging U.S. authorities to improve her conditions.

Russian state-controlled TV stations have focused on Butina, portraying her as a victim of unfair prosecution and cruel prison conditions.

Her father, Valery Butin, told Rossiya TV on Friday after talking to her that U.S. prison authorities now allow her to take walks and talk to other inmates after more than two months in solitary confinement.