Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova charged with spreading fake news on Ukraine war flees the country

After being placed on a wanted list, a former Russian state television journalist who was accused of spreading fake news and protested Vladimir Putin‘s invasion of Ukraine during a live broadcast has fled the country.

Marina Ovsyannikova is now “under the protection of a European state,” according to her lawyer, Dmitry Zakhvatov. Her lawyer refused to comment further because “it may turn out to be a problem for her,” Sky News reported.

“Ovsyannikova and her daughter left Russia a few hours after departing from the address where she was under house arrest. They are in Europe now. They are fine. They are waiting until they can talk about it publicly, but for now, it is not safe,” Ovsyannikova’s lawyer, Zakhvatov, stated.  

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In March, the former Channel One editor made international headlines when she interrupted a broadcast of its flagship Vremya (Time) evening news with a poster reading “No war.”

Marina Ovsyannikova held a sign that read, “Stop the war” and “They’re lying to you” while watching a news segment on Channel One.

Ovsyannikova was later charged with spreading “fake news” with her protest, a crime punishable by up to ten years in prison in Russia.

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Marina Ovsyannikova quit her job after the protest and became an anti-war activist, organising anti-war demonstrations. For violating protest laws, she was fined 30,000 roubles.

On March 3, a group of Deputies submitted criminal code amendments to the Russian Federal Assembly’s State Duma (Lower House). The proposed amendments would make intentionally false information about the country’s military and its actions a crime.

These amendments were introduced during the second reading of a Bill introduced in the Federal Assembly in 2018, which sought to impose criminal liability for sanctions enforcement against Russia.

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Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that the country’s enemies, such as the United States and European allies, spread false information in order to sow discord among Russians.

In the midst of the tense Ukraine standoff, Russia has labelled reports about its military missteps or civilian deaths in Ukraine as “fake news.”

Meanwhile, Western nations and news outlets have repeatedly accused Russia’s state-controlled media of spreading Kremlin propaganda or simply failing to acknowledge the attack on Ukraine.