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February 16, 2023

Russian Journalist Maria Ponomarenko Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison Amid Crackdown on War Reporting
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A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced journalist Maria Ponomarenko to
six years in a penal colony for "spreading false information" after she
accused Russian forces of bombing a theater in Mariupol, Ukraine, last
March. Amnesty International has accused Russia of a war crime over the
bombing, which killed hundreds of people. Moscow blamed the explosion on
Ukrainian nationalists. Addressing the court before her sentencing,
Ponomarenko concluded with the defiant words, "No totalitarian regime
has ever been as strong as before its collapse."