Former Russian State TV Journalist Gets 8 1/2-Year Sentence in Absentia for Ukraine War Criticism

Marina Ovsyannikova reads a paper sitting in a court room during a hearing in Moscow on Aug. 11, 2022. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo

A Moscow court on Wednesday sentenced a former state TV journalist 8 1/2 years in prison in absentia for protesting Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Marina Ovsyannikova was charged with spreading false information about the Russian army, a criminal offense under a law adopted shortly after President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine.

She staged a protest near the Kremlin in July 2022.

An image of Russian Channel One employee Marina Ovsyannikova entering Ostankino on-air TV studio in Moscow during Russia's evening news broadcast on March 14, holding up a poster that reads as "No War", taken on March 15, 2022. AFP via Getty Images

She was detained and placed under house arrest, but managed to escape to France with her daughter. Russian authorities put her on a wanted list and prosecuted and tried her in absentia.

Ms. Ovsyannikova formerly worked for state-run Channel One, one of Russia’s most popular national TV stations. She made international headlines in March 2022 after appearing behind the anchor of a Channel One evening news broadcast with a sign that said, “Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.”

She quit her job at the channel, was charged with disparaging the Russian military and fined 30,000 rubles ($270 at the time).