Russian Anti-War TV Protester On Trial
Moscow, March 15: The editor of Russian state media Channel One Marina Ovsyannikova, who had burst on to the sets of the live broadcast holding an anti-war placard, has been put on trial at Moscow’s Ostankino Court.
According to BBC, Ovsyannikova is being charged with “organising an unauthorised public event”, an administrative charge which could result in a fine of up to 30,000 roubles, community service or up to 10 days in jail.
Earlier, her lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov said he had been trying to locate her. Ovsyannikova, who was an editor of Russia, state media Channel One, had burst on to the sets of the live broadcast of the night news on Monday shouting “Stop the war. No to war” and holding placard: “Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here. Russians against the war.” She was later arrested.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has lauded the editor for her act. According to Sky News, Ovsyannikova, who said her father is Ukrainian and her mother Russian, had also released a video of herself before her demonstration saying that “unfortunately” she had been working for Channel One in recent years, working for the “Kremlin’s propaganda and I’m very ashamed of it – that I was letting them tell those lies from the TV screen… and allowed the Russian people to be zombified”.
