Russia journalist who made TV Ukraine war protest arrested and has home raided

Russian authorities have arrested a journalist who famously protested in opposition to the Ukraine warfare on state tv.

Marina Ovsyannikova was detained on Wednesday on suspicion of "discrediting" the Russian military, in keeping with her lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov.

"We're presently with investigators. An investigation has been opened," Zakhvatov informed AFP.

Osvaynnikova had earlier said on Fb that her residence was raided by Russian authorities.

"At 06:00, whereas I used to be nonetheless asleep, ten officers from the Investigative Committee and the police broke into my home," the 43-year-old wrote. "They scared my little daughter. Now they're taking me to the Investigative Committee."

Russian residents face heavy fines or as much as 15 years in jail in the event that they deliberately share "pretend information" about Russia's army or its entities overseas.

Ovsyannikova had generated worldwide headlines in March by showing on the state-funded Channel One with a placard studying "cease the warfare, don’t imagine the propaganda, they're mendacity to you right here."

The newest raid and arrest reportedly relate to a protest that Ovsyannikova staged final month with a banner studying "Putin is a killer, his troopers are fascists".

Ovsyannikova has already been handed three separate fines for her opposition to the warfare in Ukraine and now probably faces a jail sentence.

After her well-known TV protest, she was charged with disparaging the Russian army and fined 30,000 rubles (€256).

She had additionally been sanctioned for feedback in courtroom and on Fb, the place she has supported jailed Russian opposition determine Ilya Yashin and condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ovsyannikova has since been seen protesting alone in Moscow close to the Kremlin. She has beforehand labelled the costs as "absurd" and "fabricated".

Ovsyannikova give up as an editor for Russia One after her TV protest and moved overseas to work for the German newspaper "Welt".

She introduced in July that she would return to Russia to resolve a custody battle for her two youngsters.

In keeping with Web Freedoms, Russian authorities have launched 79 felony circumstances on costs of spreading "pretend information" concerning the army, in addition to an additional 4,000 administrative circumstances.