Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Saturday, October 14, 2023

France Probes Possible Poisoning Of Russian Journalist Who Denounced War On TV

PARIS (AP) — French prosecutors are investigating a suspected poisoning Thursday of a Russian journalist who fled after denouncing the war in Ukraine on live TV.

Marina Ovsyannikova called emergency services and was hospitalized after suddenly falling ill as she left her Paris apartment and said she suspected she was poisoned, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

Police were examining her apartment and an investigation was underway, the prosecutor’s office said.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which helped Ovsyannikova escape Russia and settle in France, said its team has been ‘’at her side’’ since she sought medical attention. The group, known also by its French acronym RSF, did not have further information about what happened.

Ovsyannikova, who worked at Russian state television Channel One, drew international attention in March 2022 after appearing behind the anchor of an evening news broadcast with a sign that said, “Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.”

She was charged with disparaging the Russian military and fined 30,000 rubles ($270 at the time). She later staged a protest near the Kremlin in July 2022, was detained and placed under house arrest before escaping to France with her daughter.
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Earlier this month, a Moscow court sentenced her to 8 1/2 years in prison in absentia for spreading false information about the Russian army. It was the latest example of a Russian crackdown on dissent that has intensified since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 20 months ago. The scale of the crackdown has been unprecedented in post-Soviet Russia.

Original Article
Source: Huff
Author: AP

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