Russia | Journalist opposed to Ukraine offensive under house arrest

(Moscou) La journaliste russe Marina Ovsiannikova, célèbre pour avoir critiqué l’offensive en Ukraine en direct à la télévision, a été assignée à résidence jeudi dans le cadre d’une affaire pénale qui pourrait l’envoyer en prison, a annoncé un tribunal de Moscou.

« La cour du district de Basmanny a accédé à la requête des enquêteurs de prendre une mesure de restriction sous la forme d’une assignation à résidence […] until October 9,” ​​the court said in a statement.

M^me Ovsiannikova is accused of having “discredited” the army during a solitary protest action in mid-July, when she held up a sign near the Kremlin accusing Russian forces of committing abuses in Ukraine.

Under a new article of the Penal Code adopted after the start of the conflict to deter criticism, she faces up to 10 years in prison.

During the hearing on Thursday, Mr.^me Ovsiannikova held up a sign that read: “May the children who died (during the conflict in Ukraine) haunt you in your dreams.”

The 44-year-old journalist was arrested at her home on Wednesday.

Since the end of July, M^me Ovsiannikova has already been fined twice for “discrediting” the Russian military, including on the basis of posts criticizing the offensive in Ukraine published on social networks.

M^me Ovsiannikova rose to fame in mid-March after appearing in the news on the set of a pro-Kremlin television channel for which she worked. During her speech, she carried a sign denouncing the offensive in Ukraine and the “propaganda” of the media controlled by the power.

The images of his gesture went around the world. Many people praised his courage, in a context of repression of any critical voice in Russia.

However, she is not unanimous within the Russian opposition, some still reproaching her for her years spent working for the Pervy Kanal channel, the Kremlin’s mouthpiece.

After working several months abroad, notably for the German newspaper die Welt, she announced in early July that she had returned to Russia to settle a dispute related to the custody of her two children.

The Russian authorities are tracking down any voices denouncing the offensive in Ukraine. Several opponents have been arrested or fled the country, independent media have been closed and the main foreign social networks blocked.