Lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov said in an interview with CNN that was left without news about the Russian TV publisher who held up an anti-war poster during a live broadcast on Monday (14) of Russian state broadcaster Channel One’s main newscast.
“Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda they tell lies here,” the sign read, concluding in English: “Russians against the war.” Zakhvatov confirmed to CNN that Marina Ovsyannikova is the woman seen on air holding the sign and that she is the channel’s editor.
Hours after reporting that he was out of contact with the publisher, Zakhvatov said she was found in a Moscow court. He posted on Telegram a photo with Ovsynnikova and one of her lawyers, Anton Gashinsky.
“Vandalism”
“The channel and those responsible are dealing with this,” he added. “It is not an issue on the agenda. [do Kremlin].”
Asked about possible criminal charges against Ovsyannikova, Peskov dodged the question, citing the “responsibility” that state-owned TV channels carry. “There are certain departments that handle this,” he said. “The live broadcast of any TV channel and especially those who work there have a special responsibility.”
The Investigative Committee – one of Russia’s top law enforcement agencies – has launched a pre-investigation against Ovsyannikova over “public dissemination of deliberately false information against the use of the Russian Armed Forces”, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing an unnamed source.
protests
The Russian government has been cracking down and arresting anti-war protesters at protests across the country. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Russians “who are not afraid to protest” despite the crackdown by police forces.
The CIA, the US special agency, estimates that more than 14,000 protesters were arrested in the first week of anti-war acts. According to CIA director Bill Burns, the US will monitor Putin’s domestic popularity as the war in Ukraine continues, but warned that Putin’s control over the media will help prevent any popular unrest.
“In an environment where Russian state media dominate what many people hear about what is happening in Ukraine, I think it will take time for people to absorb the consequences of the choices Putin has made.”
In prison, Putin’s opponent, Alexei Navalny, has summoned the Russians to a great act against the invasion next Sunday (20). “Putin’s mad maniac will be more quickly stopped by the people of Russia now if they oppose the war,” read a message on Navalny’s Instagram account.
Earlier this month the upper house of the Russian parliament passed a bill that would impose a prison sentence of up to 15 years on people who knowingly divulge “false” information about the Russian Armed Forces. The bill’s argument was that Moscow “is fighting what it considers an information war with the West over the conflict in Ukraine,” TASS reported.
Source: CNN Brasil
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