The prosecution sentenced Maria Ponomarenko to 9 years in the case of fakes

The prosecution requested nine years of imprisonment for Maria Ponomarenko, a journalist and activist from Barnaul. This was reported by “OVD-Info” with reference to lawyer Dmytro Shitov. A criminal case of fakes was opened against her due to posts in a telegram about the death of people in the drama theater in Mariupol.

The prosecutor also demanded that Ponomarenko be banned from administering Internet resources for five years.

As reported by Rusnews, Ponomarenko stated at the court: “The regime will collapse before the UDO will come to me.”

In April 2022, Maria Ponomarenko was detained in St. Petersburg, where she arrived on March 25 from Barnaul on a long business trip – to cover protest activity.

According to the investigation, Ponomarenko published a post on the “No Censorship” Telegram channel that talked about people who took shelter in a theater in Ukrainian Mariupol and were killed by the Russian military. Ponomarenko faces up to 10 years in prison. She has two minor daughters.

The activist was arrested and sent to a detention center in St. Petersburg, and in May she was transferred to Barnaul. Ponomarenko spent seven months in detention. In September, Ponomarenko committed suicide against the background of a severe psychological condition in solitary confinement. In November, her defense managed to transfer the activist to house arrest.

In January 2023, Ponomarenko demanded to return her to the SIZO as a sign of protest against mobilization, but the court refused to do so. But later the activist found herself in custody again, because she quarreled with her ex-husband and left the apartment to contact the police.

• In February 2023, a court in Moscow sentenced journalist Veronika Belotserkovskaya in absentia to nine years in prison in the case of fakes. St. Petersburg journalist Alexander Nevzorov was also sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison in a similar criminal case. Opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison in the case of fakes, municipal deputy Alexey Horinov was sentenced to 7 years in prison. All of them spoke out on social networks against Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and reported on the deaths of civilians in Buch, Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities.
• Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Russia has initiated 180 criminal cases about fakes about the Russian army. The article about fakes appeared in the Criminal Code immediately after the start of the military invasion of Ukraine. According to human rights activists, military censorship was actually introduced in Russia with her help.