The Russian journalist in exile Marina Ovsjannikova may have been the victim of a poisoning attempt, reports AFP with reference to sources.
The journalist felt ill after she opened the door to her apartment and soon after noticed a suspicious powder.
The journalist, who now lives in France, became internationally famous after holding up a sign reading “NO WAR” during a live broadcast on state Russian television. Ovsjannikova, who was previously an editor at state-run Channel 1, was fined and later fled the country with her eleven-year-old daughter.
She then fled to Paris where she is now suspected of having been poisoned. In early October, a Russian court sentenced her to eight and a half years in prison in absentia. A source for the news agency AFP states that the woman has been exposed to a poisoning attempt in her apartment. She is said to have felt unwell after she opened the door to her apartment and shortly afterwards noted a suspicious powder.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) secretary general Christophe Deloire writes on X, formerly Twitter, that Ovsjannikova was supported by an RSF team.
Under medical supervision
“The prosecutor’s office in Paris has opened an investigation into suspected poisoning,” he also writes on X.
In another post, he writes that the condition has improved.
“Marina’s condition improved during the afternoon. She is still under medical supervision.”