A former Russian state television journalist who in March interrupted a live television broadcast to denounce military action in Ukraine has been charged with spreading false information about the Russian military, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The charges relate to a protest last month, when Marina Ovsyannikova held up a sign reading “Putin is a murderer, his soldiers are fascists” on the Moskva River embankment in front of the Kremlin. Three “blood mute” toy dolls were placed on the floor in front of her.
Ovsyannikova, who was born in Ukraine, made headlines in March when she walked onto the set of a live evening news program on Russia’s flagship Channel One with a poster that read “No War” in English.
Since then, she has been arrested and fined several times for her continued opposition to Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
“A criminal case has been opened,” his lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov said, adding that they were waiting for investigators to decide on a pre-trial measure for the 44-year-old.
Ovsyannikova has been charged with spreading information about the Russian armed forces that the government considers false and will spend the night in pretrial detention, Zakhvatov said.
In an interview with AFP last week, Ovsyannikova had expressed hope that the authorities would not put her in pre-trial detention because she has two children.
Writing on the Telegram messaging app earlier in the day, Ovsyannikova said 10 members of law enforcement had raided her home at 6am.
“They scared my little daughter,” she added.
Criticism of Putin’s decision to send troops to Ukraine has been virtually banned in Russia, and his March protest made headlines around the world.
French President Emmanuel Macron has offered Ovsyannikova, who worked for Russian state television for 19 years, asylum or other forms of consular protection.
Putin launched the attack on Ukraine after a historic crackdown on the opposition, with top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny jailed and his political organizations banned.
The authorities are trying to stamp out the last vestiges of dissent and almost all known activists are now in prison or out of the country.
Earlier this year, prominent Putin critics Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza were remanded in custody for denouncing Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.
The criminal investigation against Ovsyannikova began after two Moscow courts ordered the journalist to pay fines for discrediting the Russian military on several occasions.
Writing on Telegram on Wednesday, he said more than 350 children had already died in Ukraine.
“How many children have to die before it stops?” she added.
In the months following her televised protest, Ovsyannikova spent time abroad, working for Germany’s Die Welt for three months.
In early July, she announced she was returning to Russia to resolve a custody dispute over her two children.
Since her return, Ovsyannikova has supported opposition politician Yashin in court and posted online against the government. She was briefly detained by police near her home in mid-July.
While Ovsyannikova was praised by many, her televised protest in March has also drawn hostile reactions from many quarters.
Some members of the Russian opposition have accused him of jumping ship in an opportunistic move and seeking fame.
Anti-Kremlin commentator and satirist Viktor Shenderovich said on Wednesday that he was wrong about Ovsyannikova.
“I was skeptical about what Channel One editor Marina Ovsyannikova had done, and it turns out I was wrong,” he wrote on Facebook.
“Today Marina is paying a serious price for this, and she deserves respect and support.”
Ovsyannikova had told AFP last week that her fate was “unenviable” but that she would continue to speak out.
“I don’t plan to stop, I’m not afraid despite the constant intimidation of the authorities.”