A new criminal case was opened against the journalist Maria Ponomarenko

A new criminal case has been opened against Maria Ponomarenko, a journalist of RusNews publication, who is serving a sentence for spreading fakes about the Russian army.

As reported by the RusNews Telegram channel with reference to a close friend of Ponomarenko, who received a letter from the prisoner, the case was opened under the article of causing harm that is not dangerous to health. The victims are the employees of the colony, but the journalist claims that she did not attack anyone.

In February, the Leninsky District Court of Barnaul sentenced Ponomarenko to six years in prison in the criminal case of spreading fakes about the Russian army for publishing in a telegram about a rocket attack on a drama theater in Mariupol, in the building of which civilians were sheltering. Hundreds of people died as a result.

Russia denies the attack on the theater. The authors of the OSCE and Amnesty International investigations came to the opposite conclusion.

In May, Ponomarenko was taken to correctional colony No. 6 in Altai Krai. Against the background of health problems and stress, she had a nervous breakdown, after which the colony employees made a report about the insults addressed to them. Once Ponomarenko fainted, then a second report was drawn up on her: she was accused of violating the regime prohibiting prisoners from lying down during the day. The third report on the journalist was made when she could not get out of bed at the request of the supervisor due to back pain.