Vasily Semenyuk holds a solo rally in support of Maria Ponomarenko in Novosibirsk, 20 March 2025. Photo: RusNews
Activists took to the streets in Moscow and Novosibirsk on Thursday in a show of support for Maria Ponomarenko, a jailed independent journalist who reportedly attempted suicide in prison earlier this month, independent outlet RusNews reported.
Ponomarenko, who comes from the city of Barnaul in southern Siberia’s republic of Altai, is currently serving a six-year sentence for “spreading false information” about the Russian military for a Telegram post she wrote about the Russian siege of Mariupol in 2022.
Her lawyer Dmitry Shitov told human rights group OVD-Info on Monday that Ponomarenko had attempted suicide in prison as a result of the “constant bullying” she was subjected to by prison staff, while her former employer RusNews shared alarming letters from Ponomarenko in which she asked for help but said that she was unable to write about what she was going through for fear that her letters would not be passed by prison censors.
Moscow activist Denis Peregudov was briefly detained by the police after standing in front of the Federal Penitentiary Service building in Moscow holding up a sign that read: “Stop killing Maria Ponomarenko! Let her see an independent doctor!”. Peregudov faces a fine of up to 20,000 rubles (€217) for “violating public assembly rules”, despite there being no ban on solo pickets in Russian law.
A similar picket was held in the western Siberian city of Novosibirsk, where activist Vasily Semenyuk held up a sign demanding Ponomarenko’s release. Semenyuk was not detained but had his documents checked by the police.
Ponomarenko is due to appear in court on Monday after new charges of assault were brought against her for allegedly assaulting prison staff, something that Ponomarenko has repeatedly and categorically denied.
