Siberian journalist starts hunger strike amid worsening prison conditions
A journalist from Siberia, Maria Ponomarienko, who is serving a six-year prison sentence for opposing Russia's aggression against Ukraine, has announced a hunger strike behind bars. The information was reported by the RusNews portal on Telegram on Tuesday.
The 46-year-old journalist was arrested less than two months after Russia started its full-scale war against Ukraine. The reason for her arrest was a post in which Ponomarienko wrote that Russian air forces bombed a theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine, where approximately 300 people died.
The post was accompanied by a video from the theatre shot before the attack and a short comment condemning the death of civilians.
In February, a court in her hometown of Barnaul in Siberia found her guilty of spreading false information about the Russian army. She is one of four journalists working for RusNews in prison.
Russian journalist may face additional charges
The journalist was sentenced to six years in prison and a five-year ban from journalistic activities after being released from prison. She was initially sent to a penal colony located 900 kilometres from her hometown, which meant she could not see her two underage daughters.
Maria Ponomarienko may now face new charges for allegedly attacking prison guards. She claims that her signature on the "bodily injuries" protocol was forged.
Former Moscow council member Yulia Galyamina reported that Ponomarienko was placed in solitary confinement because prison authorities fabricated complaints about her and she is "in very poor condition".
According to the newspaper "Kommersant," Ponomarienko attempted to slit her wrists last year. Her lawyer said that the journalist suffers from claustrophobia and, therefore, broke a window.
