Photo: SOTAvision
The Kaliningrad Oblast Court granted the prosecution's motion to remove lawyer Ilya Sidorov from the defense of political prisoner and attorney Maria Bontsler, the project Slovo Zashchite (A Word for the Defense) reported.
The motion was based on Sidorov's refusal to review case materials classified as state secrets. Both Sidorov and Bontsler opposed his removal, arguing that a defense lawyer is not required to examine such documents. Lawyers granted access to materials classified as state secrets may face temporary restrictions on leaving Russia.
🔶Maria Bontsler has been in pre-trial detention on charges of state treason for over a year. She has repeatedly complained about unbearable detention conditions and the authorities' refusal to provide her with medical treatment. In July alone, the lawyer said she had come close to death several times. According to Bontsler, last week she fainted in her cell and remained unconscious until the morning. Despite her critically high blood pressure of 210/100, detention center staff refused to hospitalize her.
🔶Before her arrest, Maria Bontsler represented many Kaliningrad political prisoners in court. She also served as chair of the local Committee of Soldiers' Mothers for 30 years. Among her clients were well-known anti-war activist Igor Baryshnikov and people prosecuted under the so-called Dadin article, which criminalizes repeated violations of Russia's law on public assemblies.
