A judge in Siberia has sentenced journalist and activist Maria Ponomarenko to an another year and 10 months in prison for allegedly assaulting a prison guard, marking the third criminal conviction against her in as many years.
Ponomarenko, 47, is serving two prison sentences for spreading “fake news” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and allegedly assaulting prison guards. She denies both accusations.
The legal rights NGO Perviy Otdel reported Wednesday that a judge at the Rubtsovsk City Court in the Altai region again found Ponomarenko guilty of inflicting “non-life-threatening harm on a prison employee.”
Taking into account her prior sentence, Perviy Otdel said the court set Ponomarenko’s cumulative sentence at two years and three months in a medium-security prison.
Prosecutors had requested a three-year prison sentence for Ponomarenko, who is a mother of two.
