After a second protest against Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, TV journalist Marina Ovsiannikova has been arrested, according to several reports. Her lawyer told the Ria-Nowosti news agency on Sunday evening. There is no information about her whereabouts. Photos were posted on her Telegram channel on Sunday that allegedly show police officers taking her into a minibus.
The civil rights portal “OVD-Info” in Moscow and the organization Cinema for Peace in Germany also reported on the arrest. The former employee of the Russian First Channel was taken to the Krasnoselsky police station in Moscow. “Marina was arrested. There is no information about where she is,” her team wrote on the journalist’s Telegram channel.
Ovzyannikova posted photos on Friday of her standing with a protest poster within sight of the Kremlin. “Putin is a murderer,” said the poster, and: “His soldiers are fascists.” 352 children have already been killed in Ukraine. “How many more children have to die before you stop?” It was unclear when the pictures were taken and how long Ovsyannikova stood on the Moskva River embankment. Usually, the Russian police put a stop to such protests in a matter of minutes.
The Russian state television employee showed a protest poster against the war in a live broadcast in March. It read: “Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. Here you will be lied to”. For this, the editor, who had previously been considered loyal to the line, received worldwide recognition. Fines were imposed on them in Russia. After the action, she lived abroad for a while and reported for WELT.
