The journalist convicted for her post about the Mariupol Drama Theater was sent to a detention center for a month

Maria Ponomarenko, a journalist from Barnaul, who was convicted for a story in a telegram about an attack on a theater in Mariupol in March 2022, was sent to a penal colony for 25 days. One of the reasons for this was her fainting, which the colony staff called an unplanned rest regime. OVD-info writes about this with reference to her lawyer Dmitry Shitov.

In February 2023, the Leninsky District Court of Barnaul sentenced Ponomarenko to six years in prison on the criminal case of spreading fakes about the Russian army. The court considered her publication in a telegram, which stated that the Russian military destroyed the drama theater in Mariupol and buried hundreds of people under the rubble, as false information.

Russia has repeatedly denied that it struck the theater. The authors of the OSCE and Amnesty International investigations came to the opposite conclusion. The international human rights organization called it a war crime, noting that the Russian army could have specifically targeted the building, knowing that civilians were hiding there.

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.

After the reports, on September 20, the journalist was sent to the SHIZO first for 15 days, then for another 10. It is cold in the cell, which aggravates the inmate’s health condition. After the prison, they plan to transfer her to strict detention conditions, writes “OVD-Info”.

Colleagues of the journalist reported that the prison staff began to put pressure on her after complaining about the conditions to the supervising prosecutor. Ponomarenko spoke about unsanitary conditions, low-quality products, and a shortage of household items, RusNews reports.

Penal detention is the most severe of those prescribed by law for prisoners. Meeting with relatives, buying food in the internal store of the colony, and receiving parcels are forbidden to those who are included in it. A typical cell of an isolator in a Russian colony: a ventilated room with an area of ​​six square meters, with bare walls.