Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who became a symbol of fearless dissent when she interrupted a live TV broadcast in March to protest her country’s invasion of Ukraine, has been placed under house arrest in Moscow pending a trial related to a fresh anti-war protest in July.
Ovsyannikova were arrested in a raid by police on her Moscow house on August 10. She appeared in court Thursday, August 11th. Ovsyannikova was charged with spreading false news about the military. This offense carries a maximum of ten years imprisonment under Russian law.
The charges against her are not related to her TV protest. They relate to a second action that she did in mid-July, in which she stood next the Kremlin with a placard containing slogans critiquing President Vladimir Putin and his army. To highlight the child deaths in the conflict, two dolls were placed at her feet.
Ovsyannikova was briefly employed by Die Welt in Germany on a temporary contract after her March protest.
After her ex-husband filed a suit in Moscow asking for sole custody, she returned to Russia in July to try to get access to her children.
Ovsyannikova said in an Instagram post that she knew she could be arrested on her return but despite these fears, she staged further public protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
She protested in the courtroom Thursday. Sitting in the glass defendant’s cage, she defiantly held up an A4 piece of paper bearing the words “May the murdered kids haunt your dreams tonight.”
Local media outlets and human right groups reported that Ovsyannikova was under house arrest from October 9 to October 9, while she awaits her trial.
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine on February 24, Russia has seen a wide-spread crackdown on antiwar protests and other forms of dissent.
OVD-info, a Russian independent human rights watchdog, estimates that more than 15,000 people have been detained and at least 178 are currently in court. They could be facing lengthy prison sentences.