Anti-Putin protest in the Ukraine war: editor disappeared after arrest

Created: 03/15/2022, 15:06

By: Lukas Zigo

During a live broadcast, an employee protests against the Russian military operation in Ukraine.

She has disappeared since her arrest.

Moscow – During the live broadcast of the most important news program in Russia

there was an unusual protest on Monday: A woman demonstrated in the television studio with a protest poster and loud calls against the Ukraine war

.

According to the organization OWD-Info, it was Marina Ovsjannikova, an employee of the station.

She had been arrested.

There has been no sign of life from her since the arrest.

During the Pervy Kanal broadcast “Vremya” on Monday evening (03/14/2022), she suddenly appeared behind the news anchor Ekaterina Andreeva, holding a sign that read “Stop the war.

Don't believe the propaganda.

Here you will be lied to” into the camera.

She also shouted "Stop the war!" before the live broadcast ended and a report on hospitals aired.

The screenshot from the news platform Twitter shows a statement by Marina Ovsyannikova before her action on Russian television.

© dpa/Twitter

War in Ukraine: There has been no trace of a journalist since her arrest – lawyers are looking

Since the protest against the Ukraine conflict*, four different lawyers have tried to locate the editor in Moscow, but without success.

Nobody has seen Marina Ovsyannikova since her arrest.

One of the lawyers, Daniil Berman, told the medium meduza about his search for the journalist.

According to this, Marina Ovsjannikova was last taken to the police department in Moscow's Ostankinsky district.

However, the police said at the request of a human rights organization that the journalist was no longer in the police station.

On the night of March 15, it became known that Ovzyannikova was in the duty room of the Ostankinsky TV tower in Moscow.

However, when lawyer Anri Tsiskarishvili tried to get there, he couldn't find the arrested journalist.

Other sources told him that she was no longer at the Ostakino police station either.

Journalist detained at unknown location: "She is being hidden by her lawyers"

Meanwhile, Anastasia Kostanova, another lawyer for the missing editor, spoke to the BBC.

"My colleagues and I searched all night for the journalist who was being held in the Channel One building," the lawyer said.

But Marina Ovsyannikova could not be found.

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"It means hiding her from her lawyers, trying to deprive her of legal representation and apparently also trying to prepare the most severe punishment," the lawyer told the BBC.

Russian journalist arrested: Corresponding law was specially passed

In a statement released by the Russian news agency Tass, the broadcaster spoke of an "incident with a strange woman during the recording".

There will be an internal investigation into the protest against the Ukraine war.

According to Tass, the young woman could be prosecuted for "discrediting the use of the Russian armed forces".

The Russian parliament recently passed a law providing for up to 15 years in prison for spreading "false news" about the military.

This made it a punishable offense to describe the Russian military operation as “war”.

This is to prevent reporting on the war in Ukraine*.

Russia – journalist admits to propaganda: “I am very ashamed of that today”

In a pre-recorded video released by OWD-Info, Ovzyannikova explained that her father is Ukrainian and her mother is Russian.

Therefore, she cannot bear to see the two countries as enemies.

“Unfortunately I have worked for Pervy Kanal in recent years and done propaganda for the Kremlin.

I'm very ashamed of that today," she said.

"We were silent in 2014 when it all just started

," she said, apparently referring to Moscow's takeover of Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.

“We didn't go to protests when the Kremlin (now-imprisoned opposition figure Alexei) poisoned Navalny

.

We simply observed this misanthropic regime in silence.

And now the whole world has turned its back on us.”

Russia: Journalist's protest draws great admiration

A video of the protest action during the news broadcast spread like wildfire on social media.

Numerous Internet users worldwide praised the woman's "extraordinary courage".

A confidante of Kremlin critic Navalny, Leonid Volkov, announced on Twitter that the opposition movement was "ready to pay any fine" imposed on Ovzyannikova.

(lz/afp/dpa)