Russian former state TV journalist sentenced for criticizing Ukraine war
A Moscow court on Wednesday sentenced a former state TV journalist to 8½ years in prison for protesting Russia’s war on Ukraine, the latest move in a crackdown on dissent that has intensified since the invasion began nearly 20 months ago.
Marina Ovsyannikova, who was sentenced in absentia, was charged with spreading false information about the Russian army, a criminal offense under a law adopted shortly after President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine.
She staged a protest near the Kremlin in July 2022, holding a sign that read, “Putin is a killer. His soldiers are fascists. 352 children have been killed. How many more children need to die for you to stop?”
She was placed under house arrest, but managed to escape to France with her daughter. Russian authorities put her on a wanted list and tried her in absentia.
Ovsyannikova formerly worked for state-run Channel One, one of Russia’s most popular national TV stations. She made international headlines in March 2022 after appearing behind the anchor of a Channel One evening news broadcast with a sign that said, “Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.”
Russian attacks plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness last winter. War-weary citizens brace for more blackouts amid a rush to protect Ukraine’s electrical grid.
She quit her job at the channel, was charged with disparaging the Russian military and fined 30,000 rubles ($270 at the time).
Since the start of the invasion, nearly 8,000 Russians have faced misdemeanor charges and more than 700 people have been implicated in criminal cases over publicly speaking out about or protesting the war, according to the OVD Info human rights and legal aid group.
As questions swirl over how Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane crashed, many note that other Kremlin foes have met suspicious and violent ends.
The authorities have also used legislation outlawing criticism of what they call the “special military operation” to target opposition figures, human rights activists and independent media. Top critics have been sentenced to long prison terms, rights groups have been forced to shut down, independent news sites have been blocked and independent journalists have left the country, fearing prosecution.
Many of those exiled abroad have been tried, convicted and sentenced to prison terms in absentia.
The scale of the crackdown has been unprecedented in post-Soviet Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s KGB years in East Germany offer a window into his crackdown on protests, war on Ukraine and yearning for empire.
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