A brave anti-war protester who stormed a Russian TV news segment has spoken of a thorough 14-hour interrogation following her act of valour.
Marina Ovsyannikova, who is a Russian employee of state-controlled Channel One, interrupted newsreader Ekaterina Andreeva last night as she was delivering her evening bulletin - The Mirror reports.
Ovsyannikova burst into the background wielding a sign containing anti-war messages in a mixture of Russian and English - urging viewers to challenge the 'propaganda' being broadcast by Russia's leading media outlet.
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Marina, wearing Ukrainian colours on her necklace in court, was detained last night by police following her act - with her case heard at Ostankino Court in Moscow.
Outside tonight she spoke to thank people across the world for their support and said she has not slept for two days.
She told reporters she is 'exhausted after extensive 14-hour interrogation, without legal help' and confirmed she plans to discuss the matter further tomorrow.
Mrs Ovsyannikova claims she wasn't allowed to make any phone calls or see a lawyer while in detention.
She said: "I want to thank friends and colleagues for their support.
"I had very difficult days in my life because I spent two days without sleep, more than 14 hours was the interrogation, I wasn't allowed to get in touch with my relatives and close ones.
"I wasn't given any legal assistance therefore I was in a quite difficult situation so let's leave all comments until tomorrow because today I really need to rest."
Marina's appearance today is related to the video she recorded before storming the news segment where she called Russia the 'aggressor' and called: "Russia must stop this fratricidal war", according to reports on Telegram.
She has today been accused of breaking protesting laws and not fake news laws, according to reports.
Marina still faces criminal proceedings as she could still be charged with 'public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the RF Armed Forces', according to the Russian outlet Baza's Telegram channel.
Previous reports suggested Marina had been missing and her lawyer couldn't find her, but multiple Russian outlets have since shared an image of her with her lawyer Anton Gashinsky.
In the photo, Marina appears to be wearing the same blacktop and multicoloured necklace as in her video statement that was released before she stormed the TV news segment.
Last night, Marina's placard read "stop the war, don't believe propaganda, they're lying to you."
Her message was written in Russian and English aimed at the channel's millions of viewers - but producers quickly switched the broadcast to a clip of a hospital as they dealt with the situation.
Before she stormed the news segment it appeared she recorded a video beforehand where she apologised for her work on Russian state TV and blamed Vladimir Putin for the war.
In the video, she said: "What's happening in Ukraine is a crime, and Russia is the aggressor. The responsibility for this aggression lies with one man: Vladimir Putin.
"My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Russian, and they were never enemies. This necklace [shows] Russia must stop this fratricidal war.
"Unfortunately, for the last few years, I've been working for Channel One. I've been doing Kremlin propaganda and I'm very ashamed of it – that I let people lie from TV screens and allowed the Russian people to be zombified.
"We didn't say anything in 2014 when it only just began. We didn't protest when the Kremlin poisoned Navalny. We just silently watched this inhuman regime.
"Now the whole world has turned away from us, and ten generations of our descendants won't wash off this fratricidal war."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has praised Marina for her brave actions.
In a video shared on Telegram, Zelensky said: "To those who are not afraid to protest.
"As long as your country has not completely closed itself off from the whole world, turning into a very large North Korea, you must fight. You must not lose your chance."
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: “Marina Ovsyannikova committed no crime.
Her defiant protest shines a light where the Russian authorities have attempted to impose total darkness.
“No one should be detained solely for expressing their opinions, let alone be kept without contact with the outside world.
“Marina Ovsyannikova has shown that the courage to stand up for justice remains stronger than the state’s propaganda, even among those employed to broadcast it.
"She has given a striking example of how far people are willing to go to speak truth to power amid the brutal repression seen in today’s Russia.”
