Russian journalist Maria Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday for accusing the Russian Air Force of bombing a theater in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol last April where women and children were hiding, Reuters and CNN reported.

The Lenin District Court of the Siberian city of Barnaul also banned Maria Ponomarenko from working as a journalist for five years, the court said in a statement. The prosecutor’s office demanded nine years of imprisonment for him.

“Patriotism is love for the Motherland, and love for the Motherland should not be expressed by encouraging crime,” Ponomarenko said in court before the sentencing, according to RusNews, where he worked.

“To attack a neighbor is a crime.”

“If it’s a war, call it a war,” she said from one of the courtroom’s famous cages. “This is a state crime against the military – it’s like spitting on the graves of veterans.”

What the Russian newspaper Kommersant wrote about Ponomarenko

Her employer, RusNews, says that the journalist has been in a pre-trial detention center until now, which had a psychological effect on her. She allegedly tried to commit suicide in September.

Ponomarenko is a mother of two children.

The newspaper “Kommersant” wrote that during the detention Ponomarenko was diagnosed with “hysterical personality disorder” and she cut her veins. Her lawyer allegedly stated that she suffered from claustrophobia and broke the window, News.ro reported.

In early February, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the Russian authorities to “immediately release” Ponomarenko, along with columnist Iskander Yasaveev, and “stop the persecution of media representatives for their reports and comments about the war in Ukraine.”

Attack on the theater in Mariupol

The theater of the Drama Academy in Mariupol was destroyed by an airstrike on the morning of March 16, 2022. The building was used as a shelter for civilians during the Russian siege of the city. Kyiv accused Russia of bombing the theater, while Russia said it was blown up by Ukrainian nationalists.

An Amnesty International investigation concluded that Russian forces committed a war crime by striking the theater. At least ten people have been killed, according to Amnesty, but many other deaths are unreported. Ukrainian officials claim that at least 300 people died in the theater.

Ponomarenko was detained in April for her online posts under laws introduced shortly after President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine. The laws provide for severe penalties for discrediting the armed forces.

According to CPJ’s latest prison census, at least 19 journalists were behind bars in Russia as of December 1, 2022.