NOTNew arrest for Russian journalist Marina Ovsiannikova. She became famous after interrupting the newspaper of a Russian state channel with a poster against the offensive in Ukraine, she was arrested on Wednesday for having “discredited” the army, announced her lawyer. “We are currently with the investigators. An investigation has been opened” against Marina Ovsiannikova for “spreading false information” about the Russian army, lawyer Dmitri Zakhvatov told Agence France-Presse. “She was arrested,” he said.
Investigators must now decide whether Marina Ovsiannikova, mother of two minor children, will be remanded in custody or remain free pending trial, according to the same source.
A controversial intervention on Russian television
Since the end of July, Marina Ovsiannikova has already been sentenced twice to fines for having “discredited” the Russian army, in particular on the basis of messages criticizing the offensive in Ukraine published on social networks. Two convictions less than six months apart pave the way for a criminal case, with potential legal consequences much heavier. Marina Ovsiannikova rose to fame in mid-March after she popped up and held up a sign denouncing the Ukraine offensive and the “propaganda” of the government-controlled media, in the open newspaper, on the set of a pro-Kremlin TV channel to which she worked. The images of his gesture went around the world. Many people praised his courage, in a context of repression of any critical voice in Russia.
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However, she is not unanimous within the Russian opposition, some still reproaching her for her years spent working for the Pervy Kanal channel, the Kremlin’s mouthpiece. After having worked several months abroad, in particular for the German newspaper Die Welt, she announced in early July that she had returned to Russia to settle a dispute related to the custody of her two children. Russia, which has already been engaged for many years in repressing voices critical of the Kremlin, has considerably toughened since the assault on Ukraine its criminal arsenal against those who denounce Russian power.