INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian state prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence for jailed Siberian journalist and activist Maria Ponomarenko on charges of
assaulting prison guards, her employer RusNews reported Monday.Ponomarenko, 46, was sentenced to six years in prison in February 2023 for
rights group Memorial, has denied both charges.State prosecutors asked the Shipunovsky District Court in the Siberian region of Altai to
combine her current six-year jail sentence with the requested two-year sentence, RusNews reported.During a hearing last Monday, RusNews
reported that Ponomarenko was placed in an isolation cell for 30 days
She accused prison authorities of abuse, saying her time in solitary confinement triggered severe panic attacks.Ponomarenko, who has been
diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder, slit her wrists in September 2022 while in pre-trial detention, claiming mistreatment.
