[ad_1]
The brave Russian journalist who stormed her TV network’s studio to protest her country’s invasion of Ukraine is now feared missing.
Marina Ovsyannikova was detained by authorities after her fearless stunt but her whereabouts are unknown and her lawyers have not been able to see her.
“Marina Ovsyannikova has not yet been found. She has been imprisoned for more than 12 hours,” human rights attorney Pavel Chikov said on Twitter, adding that he was looking for her, the Telegraph reported.
“The pre-investigation check does not provide grounds for detention and imprisonment,” he added.
During a live broadcast Monday, Ovsyannikova burst into the frame while Channel One anchor Ekaterina Andreeva read the news — holding a sign that read “Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They’re lying to you,” in a mix of English and Russian.
Get the latest updates
She chanted, “Stop the war! No to war!” as Andreeva tried to get through her segment before producers switched to a video clip, footage of the interruption showed.
Before her on-air protest, Ovsyannikova recorded a video in which she said she was “deeply ashamed” to have been a part of “Kremlin propaganda,” the Russian OVD-Info human-rights group said.
She called on Russians to protest the war, saying, “Only we have the power to stop all this craziness,” OVD-Info said.
Ovsyannikova also said in the video: “What is happening in Ukraine is a crime and Russia is the aggressor. “Responsibility for that aggression lies on the conscience of only one person. That person is Vladimir Putin,” The US Sun reported.
“My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Russian, and they were never enemies,” she added. “The necklace around my neck is a symbol that Russia must immediately stop this brother-killing war and our brother peoples can yet reconcile.
President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged Ovsyannikova’s act during his nightly address.
“I am grateful to those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth. To those who fight disinformation and tell the truth, real facts to their friends and loved ones,” he said, according to the news outlet.
“And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war,” Zelensky added.
Under a law passed by Russia’s parliament this month, journalists who categorize the invasion of Ukraine as a “war,” or report on Kremlin military setbacks and civilian deaths would face three years in prison.
The punishment could rise to 15 years behind bars for cases that lead to “severe consequences,” Russian officials said.
Ovsyannikova has reportedly changed her Facebook profile image to show her and an icon of a dove with an olive branch.
[ad_2]