AP

Russian reporter put under house arrest over war criticism

Aug 10, 2022, 9:17 PM | Updated: Aug 11, 2022, 9:54 am

Marina Ovsyannikova, a former Russian state TV journalist who quit after making an on-air protest o...

Marina Ovsyannikova, a former Russian state TV journalist who quit after making an on-air protest of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, listens sitting in a court room during a hearing in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. A court in Russia on Thursday ordered to place Ovsyannikova under house arrest for nearly two months pending investigation and trial on the charges of spreading false information about Russia's armed forces. If convicted, Ovsyannikova faces up to 10 years in prison under a new law that penalizes statements against the military and that was enacted shortly after Russian troops moved into Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)


              Marina Ovsyannikova, a former Russian state TV journalist who quit after making an on-air protest of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, listens sitting in a court room during a hearing in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. A court in Russia on Thursday ordered to place Ovsyannikova under house arrest for nearly two months pending investigation and trial on the charges of spreading false information about Russia's armed forces. If convicted, Ovsyannikova faces up to 10 years in prison under a new law that penalizes statements against the military and that was enacted shortly after Russian troops moved into Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
            
              Marina Ovsyannikova, a former Russian state TV journalist who quit after making an on-air protest of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, reads a paper sitting in a court room during a hearing in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. A court in Russia on Thursday ordered to place Ovsyannikova under house arrest for nearly two months pending investigation and trial on the charges of spreading false information about Russia's armed forces. If convicted, Ovsyannikova faces up to 10 years in prison under a new law that penalizes statements against the military and that was enacted shortly after Russian troops moved into Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
            
              Marina Ovsyannikova, a former Russian state TV journalist who quit after making an on-air protest of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, gestures sitting in a court room during a hearing in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. A court in Russia on Thursday ordered to place Ovsyannikova under house arrest for nearly two months pending investigation and trial on the charges of spreading false information about Russia's armed forces. If convicted, Ovsyannikova faces up to 10 years in prison under a new law that penalizes statements against the military and that was enacted shortly after Russian troops moved into Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
            
              Marina Ovsyannikova, a former Russian state TV journalist who quit after making an on-air protest of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, sits in a court room prior to a hearing in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. Russian authorities detained a former state TV journalist who quit after staging an on-air protest against Moscow's war in Ukraine and charged her Wednesday with spreading false information about Russia's armed forces, according to her lawyer. Marina Ovsyannikova faces up to 10 years in prison. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
            
              Marina Ovsyannikova, a former Russian state TV journalist who quit after making an on-air protest of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, listens sitting in a court room during a hearing in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. A court in Russia on Thursday ordered to place Ovsyannikova under house arrest for nearly two months pending investigation and trial on the charges of spreading false information about Russia's armed forces. If convicted, Ovsyannikova faces up to 10 years in prison under a new law that penalizes statements against the military and that was enacted shortly after Russian troops moved into Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A court in Russia on Thursday ordered a former state TV journalist placed under house arrest for nearly two months pending an investigation and potential trial on charges of spreading false information about Russia’s armed forces.

Marina Ovsyannikova was charged over a street protest last month, when she held up a banner that said, “(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is a killer, his soldiers are fascists. 352 children have been killed (in Ukraine). How many more children should die for you to stop?”

If convicted, Ovsyannikova faces up to 10 years in prison under a new law that penalizes statements against the military. The law was enacted shortly after Russian troops moved into Ukraine.

In the courtroom on Thursday, Ovsyannikova held up a poster saying “Let the murdered children come to you in your dreams at night.” She first made international headlines on March 14, when she staged an on-air protest against Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

“Marina became a hostage of her own conscience and a hostage of her love for her children, you see,” her lawyer, Dmitry Zakhvatov, said after the hearing.

“She cannot be abroad because her children are here, and she cannot stay silent here because she’s a prisoner of her conscience,” Zakhvatov said. “As a mother, she can’t stay silent. She sees what’s going on and it’s making her speak out.”

In March, Ovsyannikova appeared behind the anchor of an evening Channel One news broadcast holding a poster that said “Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.” She quit her job at the channel, was charged with disparaging the Russian military and fined 30,000 rubles ($270 at the time).

After quitting her job, Ovsyannikova became somewhat of an activist, staging antiwar pickets and speaking out publicly against the conflict.

She was fined two more times in recent weeks for disparaging the military in a critical Facebook post and with comments she made at a court where an opposition activist also accused of spreading false information about the military was remanded into custody.

According to Net Freedoms, a legal aid group focusing on free speech cases, as of Wednesday there were 79 criminal cases on charges of spreading false information about the military and up to 4,000 administrative cases on charges of disparaging the armed forces.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

23 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

24 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

4 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

Russian reporter put under house arrest over war criticism