The British government has said it is worried for the safety of a journalist who staged an anti-war protest live on Russian TV.
Marina Ovsyannikova has reportedly gone missing after she interrupted a news broadcast with a placard reading “They’re lying to you here” and “Stop the War!”
The act, which took place on Kremlin-controlled Channel 1, received plaudits from around the world but is expected to provoke a furious response from the Russian government.
Ms Ovsyannikova is expected to face criminal charges of the interruption, amid a crackdown on protest and free speech in the country.
Asked whether the UK government was worried for the safety of the journalist, who is thought to be an editor at the channel, James Cleverly, a foreign office minister, told BBC Breakfast:
“Obviously, we are we are worried. Press freedom is incredibly important and these these acts of defiance – we see people protesting on the streets in Russia, we saw that protest on the Russian news programme – these are incredibly important.
“I think it as I say it shows it shows a huge degree of bravery for those individuals to protest in what is we know an oppressive, authoritarian states. But it’s really important that the Russian people understand what is being done in their name. They have been systematically lied to by Vladimir Putin.
“And it’s really important they understand the truth of what’s going on. But that this is an invasion. This is an attack it’s unprovoked it’s unjustified, and the more Russian people understand what’s really going on, frankly, the better.”
MPs in the UK have suggested that Ms Ovsyannikova should be nominated for a Nobel prize
But she faces prosecution under new article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for the “public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Russian Federation Armed Forces”, observers say. If found guilty she could be given up to 15 years in prison.
Ahead of her protest Ms Ovsyannikova appears to have recorded a video in which she blamed Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine, and apologises for her work on Russian state TV news.
