The editors of RusNews called for writing complaints about the conditions of detention in the colony of journalist Maria Ponomarenko, who was sentenced to six years in prison in the case of military “fakes.” The corresponding post was published in the telegram channel of the publication.
Ponomarenko’s colleagues compiled a list of demands that should be sent to the prosecutor’s office of the Altai Territory, the local Ministry of Health, the regional ombudsman, the Federal Penitentiary Service for the region, the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia and the Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova.
“Stop subjecting Maria Ponomarenko to suppression, torture conditions, inhumane, dangerous, cruel treatment. Immediately provide Maria with all necessary medical and psychiatric care. Provide clothes and shoes according to season and size. Immediately grant Maria the right to protect her rights and interests, to receive legal protection, to correspond with a lawyer in the absence of censorship, and the right to have documents and records related to the criminal case. Transfer to Maria all her correspondence from relatives and other senders,” RusNews journalists listed.
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45-year-old Maria Ponomarenko, mother of two daughters, was sentenced in the case of military “fakes” (clause “e” of part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code) in February of this year. In addition to her freedom, she was deprived of the right to engage in journalism for five years. The reason for the case was a post in the telegram channel “No Censorship” about a Russian airstrike on a drama theater in Mariupol.
Already during the investigation, when the journalist was in a pre-trial detention center, she began to be subjected to cruel treatment. Ponomarenko said that in her cell the windows were covered with frosted film, and she suffered from claustrophobia. Then she broke the glass, and she was put in a punishment cell for a week. In mid-September 2022, the journalist opened her veins.
After the verdict, in March of this year, Ponomarenko was placed in a mental hospital for three days. According to the journalist, after she was required to undress while being taken to pre-trial detention center No. 2 in Biysk, she had a nervous breakdown, which is why the security forces called a team of orderlies, who severely beat the woman. Later, they stopped transmitting mail to Ponmarenko.
In mid-May, the journalist was transferred to correctional colony No. 22 in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Soon she told the lawyer that despite back pain, one of the colony employees forced Ponomarenko to carry all her things when moving to another cell on her own. By the fall, the journalist was transferred to women's colony No. 6 in the Altai Territory, where she was twice sent to a punishment cell because she lay in bed during the day due to poor health.