Protest against war and Putin: Journalist Ovsyannikova sentenced again

Protest against war and Putin
Journalist Ovzyannikova sentenced again

Marina Ovzyannikova became world famous when she held up a sign on Russian television. “Here you are being lied to,” reads it. Although she faces a long prison sentence, the Russian editor has protested against the Russian war of aggression several times since then. A court found her guilty again.

The journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who became known for her live protest action on Russian television against the military operation in Ukraine, has again had to pay a fine for repeatedly denouncing the conflict. A Moscow court ordered them to pay 50,000 rubles ($1,000) for “discrediting” the Russian armed forces, an AFP correspondent reported.

The 44-year-old was accused of calling the military operation in Ukraine a “crime” on the sidelines of a court hearing against opposition politician Ilya Yashin on July 13. In addition, she had again demonstrated near the Kremlin against the military operation and against President Vladimir Putin. A short time later, she was briefly arrested.

Ovzyannikova, who as an employee of state television reported positively about Kremlin chief Putin for years, had previously posted photos on social networks of herself standing with a protest poster within sight of the Kremlin. “Putin is a murderer,” read the poster, and “His soldiers are fascists.” Such public statements are punishable in Russia as publishing “false information” and “denigrating” the army. They can be sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.

Ovzyannikova became internationally known when she appeared behind the news anchor during a live broadcast on March 14 and held a protest poster up to the camera. It read: “Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. You’re being lied to here”. For this, the editor, who had previously been considered loyal to the line, received worldwide recognition. After the action, she was briefly taken into police custody, but was only sentenced to a fine and then released.

Lawyer: So far no plans to leave Russia

The journalist then spent several months abroad and worked briefly for the German newspaper “Die Welt”. In early July, she announced her return to Russia to settle a custody battle over her two children. According to her lawyer, Dmitry Zakvatov, Ovzyannikova currently has no plans to leave Russia.

Since the start of the military offensive in Ukraine on February 24, the Russian authorities have stepped up their crackdown on government critics. Under a new law, those who spread information about the military that authorities determine are false face up to 15 years in prison.

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