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French prosecutors on Thursday opened an investigation into "suspected poisoning" of Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who took refuge in France after storming state television last year with a poster against the war in Ukraine.
The reporter felt unwell in the street on Thursday in Paris, according to several sources. Investigators took samples from his home and the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed the opening of an investigation.
A third source said that "at the moment" there was no element that pointed to a poisoning.
The journalist, who fled Russia in October 2022, displayed an anti-war banner during an evening news program in March 2022.
A Russian court sentenced her this month in absentia to eight years in prison for another protest she staged outside the Kremlin in July 2022.
Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Ovsyannikova felt unwell when she was on the street in the morning and had been treated by a team from the organization.
"The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation on suspicion of poisoning," he confirmed. "There are no concrete elements at the moment. We will keep you informed," he added.
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