Russian journalist who flashed anti-war placard on air sentenced to over 8 years in jail
Marina Ovsyannikova
A former Russian journalist was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in absentia for allegedly voicing her opposition to the ongoing war in Ukraine and calling President Vladimir Putin a “murderer.”
The Basmanny District Court found Marina Ovsyannikova guilty of disseminating false information about the Russian army, Russian state-backed news agency TASS reported Wednesday (Oct 4).
Reuters reported that she faced criminal prosecution for "spreading knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces" in connection with a July 2022 protest.
According to reports, she allegedly stood on a river embankment opposite the Kremlin and waved posters calling Putin a “murderer” and Russian soldiers “fascists.”
"How many more children must die before you will stop?" the poster read.
She was later put under house arrest. According to her lawyer, she fled to an undisclosed European nation along with her daughter.
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Ovsyannikova's March 2022 protest
The 45-year-old journalist-turned-Kremlin critic first made global headlines in March 2022, just days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She appeared on the newscast with a message that stormed the Kremlin no time.
She brandished posters reading “Stop the war” and “They are lying to you” on air, a move that attracted heavy penalty from the authorities.
Watch:Russia-Ukraine war: Will Putin use nuclear weapons?
Ovsyannikova received a 30,000-ruble fine (at that time, around €250) over that protest. She fled Russia and worked briefly for Germany’s Die Welt newspaper, before returning to Russia to fight a child custody battle.
She then escaped house arrest and left Russia along with her daughter.
Unconfirmed reports indicate she is currently living in France.
Crackdown on dissent in Russia
Over the past 20 months, thousands of Russians have received fines, and hundreds have been subject to criminal charges for openly expressing their opposition to the Ukraine war. The Kremlin has enactedlaws that prohibit criticism of what it terms a "special military operation" to target opposition leaders, human rights advocates, and free media outlets.
Prominent critics of the Kremlin have been sentenced to extended periods of imprisonment, human rights organisations have been compelled to cease operations, independent news websites have been blocked, and many independent journalists have chosen to leave the country due to the threat of prosecution.
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