Russian reporter who protested on TV jailed in absentia

An exiled Russian reporter who protested against Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine live on state TV was handed over to eight years in jail in absentia on Wednesday for spreading “fakes” about Moscow’s army.

Marina Ovsyannikova, 45, held up a protest placard during an evening news programme last March but was sentenced for a separate protest she made outside the Kremlin last July.

“The court sentenced Ovsyannikova to eight years and six months’ imprisonment, to be served in a general regime penal colony,” the Moscow prosecutor’s office said.

Ovsyannikova, who was not present for the sentencing, fled the country last year after escaping house arrest with her 11-year-old daughter.

In a statement posted Tuesday before the sentencing, she called the charges against her “absurd and politically motivated”.

“They decided to flog me for not being afraid and for calling things by their names,” she said.

“Of course, I do not admit my guilt. And I do not deny any of my words. I made a very hard, but the only right moral choice in my life, and I have already paid a high enough price for it,” she said.

Since Russia launched full-scale hostilities against Ukraine last year, authorities have launched an unprecedented crackdown on dissent, jailing or fining dozens who oppose the conflict.