Russian on-air protester fined, faces possible prison term

NEW YORK (AP) — An employee of Russian state television who interrupted a live news program to protest the war in Ukraine has been released from custody and fined about $270. Marina Ovsyannikova (ahf-SYAN-nik-ahva) told reporters she was not allowed to sleep while in police custody. She had walked behind the TV presenter with a poster saying “stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.” In a video recorded earlier, she urged Russians to join antiwar protests. The state news agency Tass said Ovsyannikova was fined for the video and remains under investigation for the on-air protest. Under a new law, she could face a maximum 15-year prison sentence.