The Russian journalist who publicly criticized Putin and Russian aggression fled

Photo: Alexander NEMENOV / AFP / Profimedia

Russian journalist Marina Ovsyanikova, who protested against the attack on Ukraine in a live broadcast on Russian television, confirmed today that she escaped from house arrest where she ended up for allegedly spreading fake news.

"I consider myself completely innocent and since our country refuses to respect its laws, I refuse to respect the ban imposed on me on September 30, 2022 and I am freeing myself from it," she wrote on her Telegram channel.

Her lawyer said that the 44-year-old journalist was supposed to appear at the hearing at 10 a.m. Moscow time and that her whereabouts are currently unknown.

In August, Ovsyanikova was sentenced to two months of house arrest for the protest in July, when she publicly protested against the Kremlin with a placard calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a murderer and his soldiers fascists.

She faces 10 years in prison for spreading fake news about the Russian armed forces.

Her house arrest was supposed to last until October 9, but state media outlet Russia Today reported on Saturday that she had escaped with her 11-year-old daughter and their whereabouts were unknown.

It is still unclear how she managed to escape, and on Monday her name and photo appeared on the official list of refugees from the Ministry of the Interior.

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