The French prosecutor’s office opened an investigation this Thursday into “suspected poisoning” of Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, a refugee in France after breaking into state television last year with a poster against the war in Ukraine.
The reporter felt unwell in the middle of the street on Thursday in Paris, according to several sources. Investigators took samples from her at her home and the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed the opening of an investigation.
A third source specified that “at the moment” there was no element that pointed to poisoning.
The journalist, who fled Russia in October 2022, displayed an anti-war banner during an evening news program in March 2022.
A Russian court this month sentenced her in absentia to eight years in prison for another protest she staged in front of the Kremlin in July 2022.
Reporters Without Borders Secretary General Christophe Deloire wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Ovsyannikova felt unwell when she was on the street in the morning and that she had been treated by a team from the organization.
“The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into suspected poisoning,” he confirmed. “There are no concrete elements at the moment. We will keep you informed,” she added.
