Nastya Rybka: 'Sex training course' model released
- Published
Nastya Rybka said she had evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 US election
A Belarusian model deported from Thailand for leading a "sex training seminar" has been released by Russian police.
Nastya Rybka was arrested in Moscow last week while travelling from Thailand for Belarus.
Russian authorities said she remains a suspect in an unrelated criminal case, the Tass news agency reported.
On Saturday, a Moscow court ruling had extended her detention for allegedly forcing women into prostitution.
According to Russian news agency Interfax, investigators asked the court for her release on Tuesday.
Her lawyer, Dmitry Zatsarinsky, posted a video on Instagram, showing them both in a car after her release.
"Nastya Rybka is free," Mr Zatsarinsky said in the video. "We're going home."
Ms Rybka became famous after posting a video of Russian billionaire industrialist Oleg Deripaska with Russia's deputy prime minister, Sergey Prikhodko, on a yacht in 2016.
She was one of 10 people arrested in Thailand last February for organising a "sex training seminar".
Nastya Rybka was arrested in Moscow last week during her journey to Belarus
Ms Rybka, whose real name is Anastasia Vashukevich, spent nine months in custody before a Thai court handed her a suspended 18-month sentence and ordered her deportation.
While in detention in Thailand, Ms Rybka claimed to have evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election campaign.
Ms Rybka said she had obtained this through her acquaintance with Mr Deripaska. She sought help from the US embassy, fearing extradition to Russia.
Mr Deripaska has denied the allegations and successfully sued her.
He is one of several Russian oligarchs and politicians under American sanctions for "malign activities".
Ms Rybka's lawyer posted a video on Instagram last week which he said showed her arrest.
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A woman resembling her and looking sedated struggled as four men pushed her into a wheelchair, then carried her.
During her hearing on Saturday, Rybka apologised to Mr Deripaska and said she no longer wanted to "compromise him."
"I've had enough," she said.
- Published18 January 2019
- Published24 July 2019
