French Police Investigate Possible Poisoning Of Russian Journalist Marina Ovsiannikova Who Protested Ukraine War

Prosecutors in Paris have opened an investigation into the possible poisoning of Russian journalist Marina Ovsiannikova.

On Thursday, Ovsiannikova reportedly told police that she felt unwell after finding a powder substance at the door of her Paris apartment. Forensic police were immediately sent to her home.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire posted on social media saying that Ovsiannikova was feeling better by Thursday afternoon but was still being kept under medical supervision.

Last year, Ovsiannikova and her 12-year-old daughter fled Russia after she appeared behind a news anchor on screen in 2022, holding a sign that said, “Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.”

Ovsiannikova’s actions violated a 2022 Russian law, which states that anyone who spreads “false” information about the war on Ukraine may face up to 15 years in prison.

Last week, a court in Moscow sentenced Ovsiannikova to eight-and-a-half years in prison for protesting the war.

Thirty-two Russian leaders have died since the start of the war last year. Numerous opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin have been poisoned around the world over the last decade.