Prosecutors in Paris have opened an investigation into the possible poisoning of Russian journalist Marina Ovsiannikova.
On Thursday, Ovsiannikova reportedly told police that she felt unwell after finding a powder substance at the door of her Paris apartment. Forensic police were immediately sent to her home.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire posted on social media saying that Ovsiannikova was feeling better by Thursday afternoon but was still being kept under medical supervision.
Last year, Ovsiannikova and her 12-year-old daughter fled Russia after she appeared behind a news anchor on screen in 2022, holding a sign that said, “Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.”
Ovsiannikova’s actions violated a 2022 Russian law, which states that anyone who spreads “false” information about the war on Ukraine may face up to 15 years in prison.
Last week, a court in Moscow sentenced Ovsiannikova to eight-and-a-half years in prison for protesting the war.
Thirty-two Russian leaders have died since the start of the war last year. Numerous opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin have been poisoned around the world over the last decade.