Maria Ponomarenko, sentenced to six years in a penal colony for publishing about the bombing of the drama theater in Mariupol, has been in the regional tuberculosis hospital KTB-12 in Barnaul since August 12, her lawyer Dmitry Shitov reported.
According to Shitov, from July 30 to August 9, Ponomarenko attempted suicide three times. The first two attempts were made in the Rubtsovsk colony IK-9. There, the journalist was repeatedly placed in solitary confinement, where constant repair work was being done on the adjacent wall, and rats were present in the room. This environment, combined with a diagnosed hysterical personality disorder, led to a nervous breakdown. Regarding the torturous conditions of detention, the lawyer filed a crime report with the Rubtsovsk Investigative Committee.
The third suicide attempt occurred in the IK-6 Shipunovo colony due to a conflict with staff who, according to Ponomarenko, mocked her. In all cases, the journalist lost a lot of blood and required a blood transfusion. The lawyer noted that Ponomarenko thanks the paramedic of IK-6, who provided her with medical assistance after the blood loss.
At the beginning of 2023, Maria Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years in a penal colony in the case of military "fakes." The journalist was accused of publishing a post about the Russian airstrike on the drama theater in Mariupol.
In the fall of 2023, a new criminal case was initiated against Ponomarenko for assaulting an employee of IK-6 in Shipunovo. The journalist herself stated that she did not attack anyone. One of the prison guards-victims in court called the incident with Ponomarenko "insignificant" and said he would not have reported her "on his own initiative." In this case, at the end of March, the court sentenced the journalist to another year and ten months in a penal colony. Shortly before the verdict on the new case, the journalist spoke about attempting to slit her veins "due to constant mockery by the administration." In April, Ponomarenko declared a hunger strike.
Photo: TASS