Journalist Maria Ponomarenko sentenced to six years in a penal colony for a publication about a bombing in Ukraine

Journalist Maria Ponomarenko sentenced to six years in a penal colony for reporting on the war in Ukraine. © SOTA.

In reaction to the sentencing of Maria Ponomarenko, a journalist from Barnaul, Western Siberia, to six years of imprisonment in a penal colony by a social media post about a Russian forces attack to a Mariupol theater where civilians were killed, Marie Struthers, Director of Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International, said:

“The conviction of Maria Ponomarenko shows that, in Russia, telling the truth, denouncing a war crime and demanding justice for the killing of civilians has become a serious crime which carries penalties of many years in prison. His sentence is yet another example of the injustice and cynicism of the authorities in Russia, which are disturbingly common.

The authorities are trying to lock up everyone who disagrees with them and intimidate others into keeping quiet and looking the other way if they want to avoid spending years behind bars.”

In a statement to the court, 44-year-old Maria Ponomarenko, who wore a Star of David stamp with the inscription “opposition activist, patriot, pacifist” around her neck, stated that she did not consider herself a criminal.

“I have the right to utter the word ‘war’ because I am being judged under the laws of military censorshiphe said, referring to a ban by Russian authorities on referring to the invasion of Ukraine as a ‘war.’

Marie Struthers declared: “Maria Ponomarenko and all those imprisoned in Russia for criticizing the invasion of Ukraine must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

Additional information

On February 15, the Leninsky District Court in Barnaul, Altai Krai, sentenced Maria Ponomarenko, a journalist for the online outlet RusNews, to six years in a penal colony after convicting her of “knowingly disseminating false information”. on the Russian armed forces, “crime” recently incorporated into the Russian Criminal Code through article 207.3. Maria Ponomarenko had been detained pending trial since April 24, 2022.

Besides, banned from journalistic activities for five years after serving prison sentence. The prosecution asked the court to sentence her to nine years in prison for a post on the Telegram channel “Tsenzury net” (Uncensored) in which she wrote about the deaths of civilians hiding in a Mariupol theater after a Russian air strike. . Amnesty International identified twelve of the people who died in the attack in a Detailed report published in June 2022.