A Moscow journalist who protested Russia's invasion of Ukraine by interrupting a live news broadcast on Russian state television in March has been awarded the Vaclav Havel International Prize For Creative Dissent.
In a ceremony in Norwegian capital on May 25, Marina Ovsyannikova received the award, given annually at the Oslo Freedom Forum to honor "those who, with bravery and ingenuity, unmask the lies of dictatorship, and who put forth work that exemplifies tremendous courage and creativity."
Ovsyannikova, 43, burst onto the set of the Vremya news program on Russia's Channel One on March 14 while holding a poster reading in part "Stop the war. Don't believe propaganda. They are lying to you" in Russian. She also shouted in Russian: "Stop the war. No to war."
While it triggered a wave of support worldwide, the Kremlin condemned her action. She has been charged with "discrediting" the armed forces.
Since her protest, Ovsyannikova left Russia for Germany and was hired in April as a freelance correspondent for Die Welt.