As part of the investigation, it was decided that Ponomarenko should undergo psychiatric tests at a local psychiatric hospital, but the tests should only include monitoring and not medication.
The reporter Maria Ponomarenko from the city of Barnaul, which had been arrested for spreading “fake news against the Russian military”, stated that she was forced into treatment at a psychiatric clinic, where she was taken to undergo tests. According to Ponomarenko in clinic they injected her with unknown substances as punishment, the website Tayga.info reports
Ponomarenko, an activist who works with the RusNews website, was arrested on April 27 on charges of spreading fake news about the Russian military. The reason for her to be prosecuted was her Telegram post about the bombings of the Mariupol drama theater, where more than a thousand civilians, including children, had taken refuge. The Russian Defense Ministry denies that it bombed the theater.
🧵 Russian journalist Maria Ponomarenko of St. Petersburg has been arrested and arraigned for “deliberately disseminating false information about the Russian military.” Here she’s handcuffed to a “traffic cop” for some reason. HERO. pic.twitter.com/CUXu1LcYec
— Igor Sushko (@igorushko) April 25, 2022
As part of the interrogation, it was decided that Ponomarenko should be subjected to psychiatric examinations in a local mental hospital, but the tests were to include only monitoring and not the administration of drugs. Ponomarenko claims that her injected with unknown drugs for asking for her personal belongings and toiletries and for demanding to contact a lawyer. “Three security men held my arms and legs, pinned me to the bed and a nurse injected me”the journalist said.
Maria Ponomarenko, as an activist in Barnaul, was fined for picketing alone protesting the changes to the constitution. At one of the sessions of the court for administrative violations, he came with a mask that read “Putin to resign.” She was fined for this action. Ponomarenko participated in protests in Barnaul and Novosibirsk as a journalist for RusNews. She could be jailed for up to 10 years under the Fake News Act. By court decision, she has been remanded in custody and will remain in custody at least until August 28.
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