A Russian court has sentenced the wife of exiled journalist Kirill Martynov to nine years in prison for the attempted murder of her daughter almost two decades ago, Russian media reported Tuesday.
Antonina Martynova, whose maiden name is Fyodorova, had evaded criminal punishment for 16 years after a Russian jury in 2008 found her guilty of attempting to throw her toddler-aged daughter down a stairwell. She was found and detained by police on April 3.
Martynova has maintained that her daughter Alisa climbed through a stair railing and fell before she was able to catch her.
The Novgorod Regional Court in northwestern Russia found Martynova guilty and handed her a nine-year prison sentence, according to the Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti. Prosecutors last week requested to sentence Martynova to 10 years in medium-security prison.
Martynova denied the accusations against her and asked the court not to separate her from her 19-year-old daughter. Alisa told the judge that the 2007 incident was an “accident” and asked him to acquit her mother.
Martynova’s husband Kirill Martynov, who is the editor-in-chief of the exiled independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe, has not commented on the case. According to Meduza, Martynov is still legally married to Martynova.
Russian authorities have labeled Martynov a “foreign agent” and Novaya Gazeta Europe an “undesirable” organization.
Russian state media reported last year that police renewed an investigation into Martynov on suspicion of coaxing his wife to “get rid of” Alisa, who is her daughter from a previous marriage.
The only witness in that case, who was 11 years old at the time, died from a drug overdose, according to the state-funded broadcaster NTV.
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