Jailed Siberian journalist and activist Maria Ponomarenko declared a hunger strike after prison authorities placed her in an isolation cell, her employer, the RusNews outlet, reported Monday.
Ponomarenko, 46, is serving a six-year sentence at a penal colony in the Altai region for spreading “war fakes.” She now faces a new trial for allegedly assaulting prison guards — charges she denies, accusing prison staff of abuse instead.
During her latest court hearing, Ponomarenko claimed that prison authorities falsified complaints, which led to her being placed in an isolation cell. “Your honor, half my signatures and half of the [prison] employee signatures here are forged,” she told the judge, according to RusNews.
The outlet also reported that Ponomarenko intends to continue her hunger strike until a prosecutor arrives at the trial.
Moscow-based opposition activist Yulia Galyamina, who was present at the hearing, expressed concern over Ponomarenko’s condition. “It’s unclear how Masha will survive [the hunger strike],” Galyamina wrote on Telegram.
She further accused prison officials, prosecutors and the courts of working together to “destroy” Ponomarenko. “But despite her vulnerability, Masha is showing us an example of resilience,” Galyamina added.
At her previous hearing last month, Ponomarenko threatened self-harm to protest what she described as abusive treatment. Diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder, she had previously self-harmed in September 2022 while in pre-trial detention, also citing mistreatment.
