A Moscow court has sentenced Marina Ovsyannikova, a former Russian state TV editor, to 8.5 years in prison in absentia for spreading “false information” about the Russian army, independent media outlet Mediazona reported on Wednesday.
A criminal case was opened against Ovsyannikova last July after she held a solo protest in the centre of Moscow in which she held up a sign saying “Putin is a murderer, his soldiers are fascists. 352 children have been killed. How many more children have to die before you stop?”. Despite being placed under house arrest, Ovsyannikova fled the country with her daughter shortly afterwards.