Russian journalist facing prison on the run after escaping house arrest
A Russian journalist who faced up to 10 years in prison for criticising the army has escaped house arrest and is now wanted by police, Russian state media reported Monday.
Ekaterina Barabash, 63, had been arrested in February on suspicion of spreading 'false information' about the Russian armed forces in several posts she made on social media.
'The accused has been declared wanted,' the Moscow branch of Russia's federal penitentiary service said, the state TASS news agency reported. Authorities were alerted to her disappearance on 13 April by an electronic monitoring system.
Since Russia launched its military offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, authorities have launched thousands of cases against people accused of 'discrediting' the army.
Barabash had written for several news outlets, including Republic and the Russian service of Radio France Internationale.
She had been an outspoken critic of Moscow's military offensive on Ukraine, writing on Facebook in March 2022 that Russia had 'bombed the country' and 'razed whole cities to the ground'.
Russia, which denies targeting civilians, made it illegal to criticise the army and its military operations in Ukraine shortly after its offensive began.
Rights groups say authorities are using the law to wage an unprecedented crackdown on dissent reminiscent of the Soviet era.
Fleeing house arrest is risky in Russia, but not unheard of. Former Russian state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who protested the Ukraine conflict during a live broadcast, escaped Russia in 2022 after fleeing house arrest.
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