Russian journalist Marina Ovsiannikova, who became famous after appearing live on television with a sign criticizing Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, was arrested on Sunday in Russia.
No official statement has been made on the reasons for her arrest, but it comes a few days after Marina Ovsiannikova demonstrated alone near the Kremlin, brandishing a sign criticizing the military intervention in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin.
No “whereabouts information”
“Marina has been arrested. There is no information on her whereabouts,” said a message posted by those around her on the journalist’s Telegram account. This message is accompanied by three photos in which we see Ms. Ovsiannikova, 44, being taken to a white van by two police officers after having apparently been stopped while she was traveling by bicycle.
His lawyer, Dmitri Zakhvatov, confirmed the arrest to the Ria-Novosti news agency, saying he did not know where his client was taken. “I assume it is related in some way to his act of protest,” he added.
Demonstration in front of the Kremlin
On Friday, Ms. Ovsiannikova indeed posted images on Telegram of her brandishing a sign near the Kremlin evoking the death of Ukrainian children and calling Mr. Putin a “killer”.
Such statements could in theory expose him to criminal charges for publishing “false information” and “vilification” of the military, charges that carry heavy prison sentences.
Ms. Ovsiannikova became world famous in mid-March after appearing on the evening news on the set of a pro-Kremlin television channel for which she then worked with a sign criticizing the offensive in Ukraine and the “propaganda” government-controlled media.
Briefly detained in the process, she was released with a fine to pay.
Images of her gesture have gone around the world, with many people hailing the courage of the journalist, in a context of repression of any critical voice in Russia.
Ms. Ovsiannikova, however, is not unanimous within the Russian opposition, some continuing to reproach her for the years spent working for the Pervy Kanal channel, the Kremlin’s mouthpiece.
After working for several months abroad, notably for the German newspaper die Welt, the journalist announced in early July that she had returned to Russia to settle a dispute related to the custody of her two children.