Journalist Maria Ponomarenko, convicted of “military fakes,” told her lawyer that she was being pressured in the Krasnoyarsk colony, where she is serving her sentence. It is reported by RusNews.
According to Ponomarenko, on March 22, when she was transferred from one room to another, she had a sharp back pain, and a colony employee forbade other convicts to help her carry the mattress. They also refused to call the doctor to see the journalist. In addition, the same employee searched Ponomarenko's personal belongings and shook out all the letters from the envelopes.
“I couldn’t bear it myself, I sat crying. One of the employees started yelling at her and forbade anyone to help her,” the lawyer said. Later, the doctor diagnosed Ponomarenko with osteochondrosis and released him from charging.
According to the lawyer, an employee of the colony later wrote a report that Ponomarenko allegedly swore at her. Also, upon entering the colony, the journalist's personal records were confiscated under the pretext of censorship and the Criminal, Penal Executive and Criminal Procedure Codes.
Ponomarenko was taken to IK No. 22 of the Krasnoyarsk Territory on May 15. In the spring, the journalist said that she was beaten by doctors from the psychiatric team in SIZO-2 in Biysk, Altai Territory.
Ponomarenko was sentenced to a term in a colony in mid-February 2023. She was also banned from journalism for five years. The journalist was found guilty of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army because of a post about Russia shelling the drama theater in Mariupol.