Marina Ovsyannikova confirmed that she escaped – Russia

• 05 October 2022
  12:20

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Russian television journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who became famous for her on-air protest against Russia’s war in Ukraine, confirmed today that she escaped from house arrest on charges of spreading fake news, Reuters reported.

“I consider myself completely innocent, and since our country refuses to comply with its own laws, I refuse to comply with the detention measure imposed on me as of September 30, 2022, and I am freeing myself from it,” Ovsyannikova said in Telegram .

Her lawyer said she was due to appear in court in Moscow this morning, but investigators have been unable to locate her.

The journalist was placed under two-month house arrest in August for protesting in July when she stood on the riverbank opposite the Kremlin and held up a placard declaring Russian President Vladimir Putin a murderer and his soldiers fascists.

If convicted of spreading fake news about the Russian armed forces, Ovsyannikova could face up to 10 years in prison.

Her house arrest was due to last until October 9, but state broadcaster RT reported on Saturday that she had fled with her 11-year-old daughter and her whereabouts were unknown.

On Monday, her name appeared on the Home Office’s online wanted list, accompanied by a photograph.

In her statement on Telegram, the 44-year-old journalist confirmed that she had escaped and criticized the text of the criminal code used against her. She said she was being persecuted for “telling the truth”.

Russia passed new laws against discrediting or spreading “deliberately false information” about the armed forces on March 4, eight days after the invasion of Ukraine.

Ovsyannikova gained international notoriety in March when she appeared on camera in a TV studio during the evening news of Russia’s First Channel with a placard reading “Stop the war” and “They are lying to you”.