The support group for journalist Maria Ponomarenko reported that on April 13 she declared a hunger strike due to conditions in the detention center.
The administration of the detention center does not allow Maria's letters to reach the outside world and does not let her tell her loved ones what is happening. All letters, except for short ones requesting a lawyer, are confiscated with notes "false information" and "discrediting the institution".
In the solitary confinement cell, where she was sent at the end of March, there is no partition, which means there is no privacy when using the toilet. In response to her repeated complaints, employees say that she is not visible in the cell because the image is blocked by a "black square." At the same time, they enter the cell without warning.
There is no reaction from the prosecutor, and the Public Monitoring Commission does not observe any violations. After coming out with the Russian Constitution and demanding that employees comply with it, Maria heard in response: "We don't care about your Constitution, we follow DSP orders," writes the support group.
On February 15, 2023, Maria was sentenced to six years in a penal colony in a criminal case about "fakes" about the army for a post about the shelling of the drama theater in Mariupol. In December 2023, a second criminal case was initiated against her for allegedly "attacking" two colony employees, including the head of the security department.
On March 27, the Shipunovsky District Court of the Altai Territory sentenced Maria Ponomarenko to 1 year and 10 months in a penal colony for the case of "using violence against FSIN employees." In total, for the two criminal cases and taking into account the time already served, she has three years left to serve.