MOSCOW: Former state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who attracted worldwide attention for her anti-war protest on a live Russian television news broadcast, has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, reported German news agency (dpa).
A court in Moscow found Ovsyannikova guilty in absentia of knowingly spreading false information about the Russian armed forces, the Interfax agency reported on Wednesday.
The former editor, who was still employed by Russian state television at the time, caused a stir in March 2022, shortly after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ovsyannikova worked for Channel One and had been considered loyal to the Kremlin until she held an anti-war banner up to the camera on the main evening news broadcast that read: “Stop the war - they’re lying to you.”
Under Russian law, Moscow’s war on Ukraine can only be referred to as a special military operation. Penalties for criticizing the Russian army’s actions were made tougher last year.
After the protest, Ovsyannikova, now 45, worked for the German newspaper Welt, among other outlets, but then returned to Russia and protested the war again, this time near the Kremlin.
In October 2022, her lawyer said she had left her home country for good and was somewhere in Europe. It is not known exactly where the mother of two is staying. Her daughter left the country together with Ovsyannikova, while the son stayed with his father in Russia. -Bernama
