INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
German newspaper Die Welt said Monday it has hired Marina Ovsyannikova, the Russian journalist who protested against Moscow's military
action in Ukraine during a prime-time news broadcast on state TV.Ovsyannikova, 43, "is now a freelance correspondent for Die Welt, reporting
contributor to its TV news channel, it said.Ovsyannikova, an editor at Russia's Channel One television, barged onto the set of its flagship
Vremya (Time) evening news in March holding a poster reading "No War" in English.It was a highly unusual event in Russia where state media
is strictly controlled.After her protest, she was detained and questioned for 14 hours before being released and ordered to pay a fine of
30,000 rubles ($280).But she could face further prosecution, risking years in prison under draconian new laws.The case drew international
attention and raised alarm over press freedom in Russia in the wake of President Vladimir Putin's decision to send troops to into
Ukraine.Ovsyannikova said she was quitting her job but did not accept an offer from President Emmanuel Macron of asylum in France, saying
she wanted to stay in Russia.Ulf Poschardt, editor-in-chief of Die Welt, praised Ovsyannikova's "courage at a decisive moment" and said she
is being defended so vehemently by the courageous people on the ground in Ukraine right now: for freedom.""I see it as my task as a
journalist to stand up for this freedom," she said.
