France is investigating the case of the poisoning of a Russian journalist who organized a live protest against the war in Ukraine

Prosecutors in Paris have opened an investigation into the poisoning of a Russian journalist who made headlines last year when she brandished an anti-political slogan.Ukraine war Slogan on state television.

Marina Ovsyannikova She reportedly told police she felt unwell when she opened the door to her Paris apartment on Thursday and noticed a powdery substance. The criminal police were sent to check her house.

Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders organization reported on social media The journalist was feeling better by the afternoon but was still under medical supervision.

The international non-profit organization was instrumental in extracting the 44-year-old journalist and her 12-year-old daughter from Russia late last year, when she fled in fear for her life.

Ovsyannikova, a reporter for the Pervy Kanal TV channel, became an instant pariah in Russia in March 2022 when she appeared behind a news anchor on screen. They wave a banner about the war in UkraineIt carried the phrase: “Stop the war. Do not believe the propaganda. They are lying to you here.”

Just last week, a court was held in Moscow Ovsyannikova was sentenced Up to 8 and a half years in prison in absentia for protesting the war.

In 2022, Russia Pass the law Under it, anyone who spreads “false” information about the war in Ukraine could face up to 15 years in prison.

Leading Kremlin critics have been sentenced to long prison terms, independent news websites have been blocked, and independent journalists have left the country for fear of prosecution.

He is one of the most prominent dissidents imprisoned in Russia Opposition leader Alexei Navlanywho was convicted by a Russian court of promoting “extremism”, extending his already long prison term by 19 years.

Navalny spent five months in Germany recovering from a poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin, a claim Russian officials have always denied.