By April 24, 2022, just two months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Barnaul-based journalist Maria Ponomarenko from RusNews was arrested* in St. Petersburg. She was charged under one of the most frequently used articles of the Criminal Code concerning anti-war cases recently, according to OVD-Info*, for spreading “fake news about the Russian army.”
Maria was detained for 48 hours in St. Petersburg during a business trip, and her apartment in Barnaul was searched. Two months later, she was transported back to Barnaul. On February 15, 2023, Maria Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years in a penal colony and banned from journalism for five years. She is currently serving her sentence.
We will examine this story from three perspectives: Pro, Contra, In fact
CONTRA
Authorities claimed Maria posted in the Telegram channel “No Censorship” about the bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theater by Russian forces on March 16, 2022, which resulted in around 300 deaths, according to the city administration. This high casualty count was because the theater served as a shelter for civilians. However, Russian military officials alleged it was a provocation by the Azov Battalion fighters. Later, the Russian Ministry of Defense officially denied any bombing, labeling any contrary information as “fake.”
The “Paper” publication suggests* Maria made the post in another channel, “Our Days,” which had 1,649 subscribers (available via the link https://t.me/cenzyrinet). However, the post is no longer in the channel. According to “Paper,” which examined web archive data, there were posts* about Mariupol on that day stating that “Mariupol’s children, women, men, and elders did nothing wrong to Russians” and mentioning signs saying “children” near the drama theater. The authors also used the hashtag #HandsOffUkraine.
One post in “Our Days” claims the channel belongs to Maria Ponomarenko, with a link in her Instagram** profile. However, the channel currently has just over 700 subscribers, not 1,600 as the investigation claimed.
While Maria was in a St. Petersburg detention center, authorities interrogated her underage daughter, Ekaterina, without the mother’s consent. Maria’s lawyer, Sergey Podolsky, stated that there was no evidence of this interrogation: “It was a one-sided statement by the investigator without presenting documents about questioning Maria’s daughter, supposedly providing partial testimony against her mother… We’d like to know how this interrogation was legitimized, whether a teacher or lawyer was present. Legal representatives (parents) were clearly absent as they were not in the city at the time,” he told* the BBC.
On September 16, 2022, it was reported that Maria cut her veins while in a Barnaul detention center due to claustrophobia and being in a cell with sealed windows. Earlier, in July, Maria underwent a psychiatric evaluation, which found no abnormalities in the 44-year-old’s behavior. Maria considered her conditions torturous, and she was a danger only to herself. Colleagues from RusNews noted Maria sought help from a doctor and psychologist due to depression, but she was not assisted.
After this incident, Maria’s lawyer, Dmitry Shitov, requested house arrest, which the Barnaul Lenin District Court granted on November 14. Maria was to serve her house arrest in an apartment with her ex-husband, his parents, and their daughters. Relations with her ex-husband were strained, and on January 27, 2023, Maria was returned to the detention center after a quarrel. According to* a BBC publication, Maria’s ex-husband supports the war in Ukraine, unlike Maria.
On February 15, 2023, the Barnaul Lenin District Court sentenced* Maria to six years in prison and banned her from journalism for five years. Her lawyer, Dmitry Shitov, noted that the prosecution sought* nine years in a general regime colony.
PRO
At the penultimate court session, Maria wore a yellow Star of David with the inscriptions “oppositionist, patriot, pacifist” on her suit. The yellow Star of David in Nazi Germany was a direct tool of segregation and oppression of the Jewish people.
In her final statement, Maria said she was merely expressing her opinion, citing the Constitution, and did not consider herself a criminal. She did not expect leniency from the court.
“I have the right to say ‘war’ because I’m being judged under wartime censorship laws… All I did was express my opinion, using my constitutional right. Yes, I consider the Constitution above all. If the Constitution gives me the right to self-expression, I have the right to speak and express my position regarding the current authorities.”
The post that led to Maria’s charges was removed from Telegram. But “Paper”* writes that according to web archive data, the key message in Maria’s post was her opinion that “Mariupol’s children, women, men, elders did nothing wrong to Russians” and signs saying “children” were near the theater. The post also included the hashtag #HandsOffUkraine.
“If I see that pensions are small, that the elderly are being robbed, I will criticize the authorities,” Maria said in her final statement. “If I see that housing queues in the Altai Territory are not decreasing, I will criticize the local authorities. If I considered the information in several Telegram channels credible, I published it. This is my opinion, which the Constitution gave me the right to. Violating the Constitution by modern courts is the highest crime without a statute of limitations,” Maria’s colleagues from RusNews quoted her.
IN FACT
The fact of the theater bombing in Mariupol, which served as a shelter for civilians, has long been established. This is evidenced by investigations and a 72-page report by Amnesty International, based on eyewitness testimonies, on-site footage, and satellite images. Additionally, there is a large investigation by the Associated Press, which also relies on witnesses and sources, concluding that the bombing was carried out by Russian Armed Forces.
In contrast to these well-documented investigations, the Ministry of Defense made an unsubstantiated statement in its Telegram channel, claiming the hundreds of civilian deaths during the Mariupol bombing were a “diversion by Azov fighters.” The ministry provided no facts to support this, mentioning unnamed “refugees.” According to the standards of quality journalism, such an assertion—without verified facts—constitutes false information. Or a “claim to truth,” stylistically reminiscent of Chekhov’s “Letter to a Learned Neighbor”: “It cannot be because it can never be.”
However, 44-year-old journalist Maria Ponomarenko is accused of spreading “fake news about the army” (i.e., false information). Furthermore, according to lawyer Shitov, the case lacks criminal elements: Maria’s publication could not contain “knowingly false information”: “She posted about the theater bombing before the Russian Ministry of Defense’s official statement. She could not know whether it was fake or not. Hence, there was no intent to publish a lie,” explains the lawyer, adding that the prosecution did not prove Maria posted it.
Maria believes the authorities targeted her not just for the post, seen by fewer than 300 people*, but for her activist activities. She frequently participated in protests and rallies*, criticizing both local and federal authorities*. In 2020 and 2021, Maria was fined for social media posts* about a rally supporting former Khabarovsk Governor Sergey Furgal, attending court* in a mask saying “Putin Resign,” a TikTok video* saying “Putin Resign! Khabarovsk, I’m with you,” and an Instagram** story* supporting Alexei Navalny. She was also investigated* under the “Dadin” article of the Criminal Code for repeated violations at rallies (Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code).
Maria’s civic activism was viewed differently in Europe and Russia. In November 2023, the European Court of Human Rights awarded compensation* to 107 Russians for illegal detentions at protests, including Maria. In Russia, her activities were deemed “thought crime.”
In November 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Russia continues to follow all human rights obligations. He emphasized that Russia had to leave international human rights institutions due to their bias but continues to uphold human rights obligations. Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, commenting on Russia’s exit from the Council of Europe (March 15, 2022), asserted it did not affect human rights in the country since the Russian Constitution provides broader guarantees of rights and freedoms compared to the European Convention.
This brings to mind the “most democratic” Stalinist constitution of 1936, which guaranteed freedom of speech, press, assembly, street processions, and demonstrations—only “in accordance with the interests of the working people and to strengthen the socialist system.”
The independent human rights project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial*” recognized Maria Ponomarenko as a political prisoner.
On February 16, 2023, the European Parliament issued a resolution condemning the cruel treatment of political prisoners in Russia, including Maria Ponomarenko, who remains in prison.
*- recognized as “foreign agents” on the territory of the Russian Federation.
**- Meta is recognized as an “extremist organization” on the territory of the Russian Federation.