Maria Bontsler. Photo: social media
Maria Bontsler, a Russian lawyer on trial for “cooperating with a foreign state on a confidential basis”, has reported numerous instances of maltreatment by prison and hospital staff during a conversation with her lawyer, independent media outlet The Insider reported on Monday.
One of the few defence lawyers in Russia willing to defend political prisoners, Bontsler was detained in May and placed in pretrial detention after being accused of corresponding with a Ukrainian secret service officer.
According to The Insider, Bontsler, 65, told her lawyer that she fell ill on 23 July after prison staff deliberately left her in the prison yard in heavy rain. Despite her ailing health, she was taken to a court hearing the following day, where her condition worsened and she was transferred to hospital, accompanied by two guards.
At the hospital, the guards handcuffed Bontsler to the bed for 24 hours a day, causing her significant pain and leaving her unable to sleep. She was also forbidden to shower or go near the window, and had little to eat as she was not provided with vegetarian meals.
On her seventh day at the hospital, Bontsler was diagnosed with multiple gastrointestinal problems and duodenal ulcers. She was then transferred to a specialist clinic, where she was given antibiotics and fed more suitable food.
However, despite urine and blood tests taken on 3 August showing “very bad” results, Bontsler was discharged from the clinic on the same day and taken back to the pretrial detention centre, where the guards disrupted her treatment by failing to provide her with antibiotics.
During a conversation with her lawyer last Thursday, Bontsler stressed that there were no medical workers present during the morning checks at the pretrial detention centre and complained of “constant” pain in her heart and kidneys, which was not being treated.
Earlier this month, Bontsler filed a complaint against her state-appointed lawyer, claiming that he had duped her into signing a statement that she had engaged in correspondence with an agent of Ukraine’s secret services.