The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case against former Channel One employee Marina Ovsyannikova for allegedly spreading “disinformation” about the Russian military. Her lawyer, Dmitry Zakhvatov, reported that police raided her home on Wednesday, breaking down the door and refusing to wait for him to arrive. Zakhvatov told Meduza that the case was likely opened in response to one of Ovsyannikova’s recent one-woman protests in which she stood in Moscow with a sign that read, “Putin is a killer, his soldiers are fascists.”
Ovsyannikova was fined for allegedly “discrediting” the Russian army in July and again in early August. The first time was in response to comments she made in support of opposition politician Ilya Yashin. The second was for an anti-war post she made on Facebook.
During a March 14 live broadcast on the Russian state television network Channel One, Ovsyannikova ran out on stage, displayed an antiwar sign, and began shouting antiwar slogans. She was arrested after the broadcast and later fined for participating in an unauthorized protest. She left the country soon after the protest, but returned in July.
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