Paris police investigate suspected poisoning of former Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Paris authorities have launched an investigation into the suspected poisoning of a former Russian state TV journalist known for protesting the Ukraine war during a live broadcast.

Marina Ovsyannikova called police to her Paris apartment Thursday after she said she arrived home and came in contact with a toxic powdery substance that made her sick.

A forensic team responded and examined the scene, yet authorities have not yet disclosed their findings regarding the nature of the chemical substance.

Ovsyannikova, 45, was transported to a nearby hospital, where she told doctors she thought she may have been poisoned.

She was given medical treatment and felt better later in the day, but as a precaution, she remained under a doctor's care, according to Christophe Deloire, the secretary general of Reporters Without Borders, whose representatives were stationed at the medical facility for Ovsyannikova's safety.

Ovsyannikova gained international attention in March 2022 after she pulled off an audacious anti-war protest on live state television, during the second month of the war, while she was on duty as the top editor of the Vremya nightly state news program on the Perviy Kanal television channel.

She walked into the middle of a newscast, carrying a sign that read: "No War. Stop the war, don't believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here."

Immediately after the incident, she was fined about $300 but a couple months later, Russian authorities raided her apartment and put her on house arrest, prompting her exile.

With Deloire's help, the journalist escaped from Russia with her 12-year-old daughter in late 2022, leading to a low-profile existence for nearly a full year before Thursday's sudden turn of events.

Last week in Moscow, Ovsyannikova was sentenced in absentia to more than eight years in prison for "disseminating false information."

Ovsyannikova's alleged offense occurred after the Kremlin passed a law making it illegal to spread false information about the Russian invasion, with violations punishable by as many as 15 years in prison.

Thousands of Kremlin critics and dissidents have been arrested or received long prison terms as a result of the law, while independent news organizations have pulled their journalists out of the country, fearing they will face prosecution for accurate reporting.