Russian TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who in March protested Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine in a live news broadcast, has fled the country after escaping house arrest.
Ovsyannikova's lawyer, Dmitry Zakhvatov, said on October 17 that his client "had to leave Russia and is under the protection of a European state at the moment."
Ovsyannikova gained international recognition on March 14 when she burst onto the set of Channel One's Vremya news program holding a poster reading: “Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They are lying to you” in Russian. She also shouted: "Stop the war. No to war."
Ukraine-born Ovsyannikova was a producer with Channel One at the time of her protest. She was later detained and fined 30,000 rubles ($490) by a court for calling for illegal protests.
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Russian TV News Hit By Anti-War Protest In Studio
She was placed under house arrest in August on a charge of distributing false information about Russia’s armed forces after police searched her apartment in the Russian capital. Zakhvatov said then that his client may face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the charge.
In early October, the Interior Ministry added Ovsyannikova to its wanted list, saying that she had violated the conditions of her house arrest.
Ovsyannikova's former husband, Igor Ovsyannikov, said at the time that she had escaped from her home along with their 11-year-old daughter.
On October 17, Moscow’s Cheryomushki district court ruled that Ovsyannikova's daughter must stay with her father, because her mother "is involved in political activities."
SEE ALSO: Ukraine Live Briefing: Russian Missile Strikes On KyivOvsyannikova resigned from Channel One and spent several months abroad, including in Ukraine, repeatedly expressing her condemnation of the war.
A law signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in March provides for lengthy prison terms for distributing "deliberately false information" about Russian military operations.
Russia refers to the conflict in Ukraine, which it launched in February, as a "special military operation." It is forbidden to publicly call it a war and those who do face stiff penalties including lengthy sentences.