Journalist Marina Ovsiannikova, known for her protests against the Ukraine offensive on state television, was sentenced in absentia to eight and a half years in prison for criticizing the army in a separate case, a Russian court said on Wednesday.
The journalist, who fled Russia a year ago, was charged with “spreading false information” about the Russian armed forces and had already been fined for similar offenses in August 2022.
According to the state agency Ria Novosti, she was convicted this time because she demonstrated alone with a sign against the Russian offensive in Ukraine last year.
Ms. Ovsiannikova rose to fame in mid-March 2022 after appearing mid-newspaper on the set of a pro-Kremlin television channel she worked for.
During her speech, she carried a sign denouncing the offensive in Ukraine and the “propaganda” of the government-controlled media.
Images of his action went around the world just a few weeks after the Russian attack began. Many people praised his courage in the context of the suppression of any critical voice in Russia.
In July 2022, she was arrested after protesting alone near the Kremlin with a sign criticizing military intervention in Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In October 2022, she fled Russia with her daughter under house arrest. According to her Instagram account, the journalist is currently in France.
The suppression of every voice critical of the Kremlin and its offensive in Ukraine is in full swing in Russia. Many opposition members and ordinary citizens were sentenced to long prison terms.
Tens of thousands of Russians, particularly opponents, journalists and community activists, have chosen exile.