French President Emmanuel Macron said he was ready to grant Channel One editor Marina Ovsyannikova asylum in France. This was reported by the British newspaper The Guardian.
Macron intends to discuss Ovsyannikova's case with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On March 14, Ovsyannikova burst into a live news program for a few seconds with a poster against the war with Ukraine. Before the action, the journalist recorded a video message in which she condemned the actions of the Russian army on the territory of the neighboring country.
Today, March 15, Ovsyannikova was fined 30 thousand rubles. She refused to testify, citing Article 51 of the Constitution.
The court considered an administrative offense under Part 2 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code (organization of an unauthorized public event). The case was initiated because of the video, where the girl called to go to anti-war rallies.
The journalist may face not only administrative action, but also criminal charges: the TASS source said that the Investigative Committee launched an investigation under a recently published article about intentionally spreading false information about the actions of the Russian military (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). Under this article, she may face punishment ranging from a fine of 700,000 rubles or more to imprisonment from three to 15 years.
However, many in Ukraine are skeptical about such an action of the girl. Many are sure that it was an action planed by the management of the channel. Some kind of opportunity to escape from sanctions and other consequences of Russia's attack on Ukraine.
