Extract from ABC News
A Russian court has sentenced a journalist to six years in prison for comments critical of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine.
Key points:
- Maria Ponomarenko was on trial for a social media post critical of Russia's attack on a theatre in Ukraine
- The court sentenced her for spreading false information about Moscow's army
- Critics say the verdict is designed to criminalise criticism of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
The verdict is the latest in a series of high-profile rulings under new legislation that critics say is designed to criminalise criticism of the military intervention.
Maria Ponomarenko, 44, was sentenced for spreading information she knew to be false about Moscow's army, said the Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes.
The journalist was sentenced on Wednesday in the southern Siberian city of Barnaul, where she worked for the RusNews website.
The news agency wrote on its Twitter page: "The Barnaul court found Maria Ponomarenko guilty of 'spreading fakes' and sentenced her to 6 years in a penal colony.
"In addition, Maria was forbidden to engage in journalistic activities for 5 years."
She was prosecuted for a post on social media last March related to an attack on a theatre in Ukraine's port city of Mariupol that came under Russian control after a long siege.
Kyiv and its Western allies blamed Moscow for the death of hundreds of civilians in the attack, which Russia denies.
Prosecutors had requested a jail term of nine years.
Ms Ponomarenko was arrested last April in Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg before being transferred to Barnaul.
Her lawyer has raised alarm over her deteriorating mental health and requested that she receives treatment, the OVD-Info law-enforcement monitoring group reported.
After the Kremlin ordered troops into Ukraine nearly a year ago, Russia introduced new legislation criminalising what authorities consider to be false or damaging information about the Russian army and the offensive.
In December, prominent opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Earlier last year, Alexei Gorinov, a member of a Moscow municipal council, received a 7-year sentence for his critical remarks about the hostilities in Ukraine.
Another leading opposition figure, Vladimir Kara-Murza, has been in custody awaiting trial on the same charge.
AFP/AP
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