Dissident journalist Marina Ovsiannikova left Russia

"Marina Ovsiannikova (our photo) left Russia with her daughter a few hours after leaving the apartment where she was under house arrest," her lawyer told AFP on Monday, October 17.

AP - Alexander Zemlianichenko

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Russian journalist Marina Ovsiannikova, under house arrest for denouncing the Russian offensive in Ukraine, fled Russia with her daughter.

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“ 

 ,” her lawyer, Dmitri Zakhvatov, told AFP, adding that mother and daughter are in Europe.

" 

," he added.

House arrest

This announcement comes two weeks after a wanted notice for the 44-year-old journalist was issued by the Russian authorities, suggesting that she was on the run.

Charged in August 2022 for " 

 " about the Russian army - a crime punishable by ten years in prison - she had been placed under house arrest by a Moscow court and was prohibited from using any means of communication.

In mid-March, a few days after the outbreak of the offensive in Ukraine, Marina Ovsiannikova interrupted the evening news of the major Russian channel Pervy Kanal, where she had worked as a journalist for nearly 20 years.

She had waved a sign in full live calling for an end to the fighting and the Russians to “ 

”.

Always critical

For this gesture, she was briefly arrested and fined.

She had then left the country to work for the German media

.

In July, she had returned to Russia to try to retain custody of her two minor children, whom her ex-husband, still living in Russia, was trying to take from her.

Despite the risks, she continued to criticize the power and the offensive from Moscow, before being arrested again and charged with “ 

 ” about the army.

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