A Russian court on Wednesday (February 15th) sentenced a journalist to six years in prison for condemning the Ukrainian attack on Instagram, a new example of the suppression of critical voices in the conflict.
44-year-old Maria Ponomarenko was found guilty “spreading false informationon the army, said the Russian Investigative Committee, which is responsible for basic criminal investigation in Russia.
Condemnation of Mariupol explosions
This crime, which was introduced after the attack on Ukraine began, has already been used several times to sentence people who publicly criticize the conflict to severe prison terms. The journalist was sentenced by the Barnaul court of the Siberian Altai region, where he worked for the RusNews news site.
According to the specialized NGO OVD-Info, he was prosecuted for posting a message on Instagram in March 2022, immediately after the February 24 attack, condemning the bombing of a theater in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which at the time was surrounded by the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Russian army. Kiev has accused Moscow of killing hundreds of civilians in the bombing, which Russian authorities deny.
Degraded psychiatric condition
Maria Ponomarenko was arrested in April in Saint Petersburg, then transferred to Barnaul. His lawyer confirms that his psychological condition worsened in custody and that he unsuccessfully requested to be transferred to a psychiatric hospital.
In September, according to OVD-Info, he broke the window of his cell because it was too opaque and did not allow him to see the sun and the sky. As a punishment, he was placed in the punishment cell for a week.
As OVD-Info reports, in November, the journalist was put under house arrest at her ex-husband’s house. After an argument with the latter, at the end of January, he presented himself at the police station and was again subjected to preliminary detention.
HAVE also – Tangui Bertemet. “The Russians campaigning in Ukraine are the same ones operating in the Sahel.”
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.