Russian TV protester flees country after escaping house arrest

Marina Ovsyannikova, identified for her anti-war protests, confronted 10 years in jail in Russia for spreading ‘pretend information’.

Former Russian state TV employee Marina Ovsyannikova, who staged an anti-war protest on live state television and was later charged with public activity aimed at discrediting the Russian army amid Ukraine-Russia conflict, attends a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, July 28, 2022
Ovsyannikova is a former Russian state TV worker who staged an anti-war protest on dwell tv [File: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters]

Former Russian state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who interrupted a dwell information broadcast with an anti-war protest and was accused of spreading “pretend information” in regards to the battle in Ukraine, has fled the nation after escaping from home arrest, in response to her lawyer.

Ovsyannikova is presently “below the safety of a European state”, lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov stated on Monday, declining to elaborate as “it could turn into an issue” for her.

In March, Ovsyannikova interrupted a dwell night information programme on Russia’s state tv, holding up an indication behind the studio presenter that stated “NO WAR. Cease the battle” and “Don’t imagine the propaganda”.

She was arrested, charged with disparaging the Russian navy and fined 30,000 roubles ($270 on the time).

The Kremlin denounced her protest as “hooliganism”.

The Channel One editor stop her job however refused to simply accept an asylum provide in France from President Emmanuel Macron, saying “I don’t wish to depart our nation”.

After quitting her job, Ovsyannikova grew to become an activist, staging anti-war pickets.

The 44-year-old was given two months’ home arrest in August over a protest in July when she held up a poster that described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “assassin” and Moscow’s troops as “fascists”.

On October 5, Ovsyannikova posted on the Telegram messenger app that she escaped the home arrest, saying, “I take into account myself fully harmless, and since our state refuses to adjust to its personal legal guidelines, I refuse to adjust to the measure of restraint imposed on me”.

She faces as much as 10 years in jail on prices of spreading pretend information about Russia’s armed forces if discovered responsible.

Her whereabouts since then have been unknown.

Zakhvatov stated Ovsyannikova’s daughter left the nation together with her, whereas her son remained in Russia. He declined to say the place she was however informed the Reuters information company: “Quickly all the things shall be made public. We want a few weeks.”

On March 4, Russia handed a brand new legislation below which Russians might face jail sentences of as much as 15 years for spreading data that goes in opposition to the Russian authorities’s place on the battle in Ukraine, a transfer that got here as authorities blocked entry to international media retailers.

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