Journalist Marina Ovsiannikova has been put on the wanted list in Russia, according to a statement reaching AFP on Monday about the voice criticizing the conflict in Ukraine and known for waving a pacifist sign on television.
• Also read: Russia: The journalist directed against the offensive in Ukraine is under house arrest
• Also read: Russia: Arrest of journalist who opposed offensive in Ukraine
The website of the Russian Interior Ministry states without further information that Ms. Ovsiannikova, 44, is wanted in connection with a criminal case.
In August, she was placed under house arrest and banned from using any means of communication by a Moscow court on charges of “spreading false information” about the Russian military – a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
His house arrest ran until October 9 before likely being extended pending his trial.
Contacted by AFP, her lawyer Dmitri Zakhvatov confirmed that she was wanted because “as of October 9 she is not where she should be”. However, he did not provide any further information about his current whereabouts in Russia or abroad.
On September 21, the date of the announcement of a “partial” military mobilization in Russia, Marina Ovsiannikova’s supporters posted a message on their social networks. She said she went to a hearing as part of the lawsuits against her with a sign that read “NO TO MOBILIZATION.”
In mid-March, a few days after the start of the offensive in Ukraine, Marina Ovsiannikova interrupted the evening news of the major Russian channel Pervy Kanal, for which she had worked as a journalist for almost 20 years.
She had, in full life, waved a sign calling for an end to the fighting and urging the Russians “not to believe the propaganda.”
She was briefly arrested and fined for the gesture. She then left the country to work for the German medium Die Welt.
In July, she returned to Russia to try to retain custody of her two minor children, whom her ex-husband, who still lives in Russia, wanted to take away from her.
Despite the risks, she had continued to criticize Moscow’s power and offensive before being arrested again and charged with “spreading false information” about the army.
Since the offensive in Ukraine, the Russian authorities have suppressed any denunciation of the conflict, with criminal cases punishable by thousands of fines as well as very long prison sentences.