A Russian journalist was found guilty of disparaging the military on Wednesday and received a six-year prison sentence, the latest punishment in a relentless campaign against critics of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
The court in the southern Siberian city of Barnaul found Maria Ponomarenko guilty of “spreading false information about the actions of the Russian armed forces” with her posts on a messaging app. Ponomarenko, who worked for the RusNews portal, denied the charges.
Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Kremlin-controlled parliament passed a law banning the spread of “false information” about the country’s military campaign in Ukraine.
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Maria Ponomarenko is the latest person to be punished as Russia cracks down on Moscow critics.
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Russian authorities have used the law to stifle any criticism of what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Some members of Russia’s embattled political opposition, activists, journalists and bloggers were previously convicted and imprisoned under the law.
In December, prominent opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. Early last year, Alexei Gorinov, a member of a Moscow municipal council, received a 7-year sentence for his critical comments about the hostilities in Ukraine.
Another prominent opposition figure, Vladimir Kara-Murza, has been in custody awaiting trial on the same charge.
