Yevgeny Roizman, a former mayor of Yekaterinburg and outspoken Kremlin critic, was detained on charges of “discrediting the armed forces,” a charge that Russian authorities have used broadly to silence critics of the Ukraine invasion.
Roizman, who won election to the Ural Mountain city following opposition protests in 2012, was arrested by camouflaged police who appeared to wake him early on August 24 as they took him into custody.
In a video recorded by journalists and activists outside his apartment, Roizman was asked why he was being charged.
“Practically speaking, it’s for one phrase: ‘the invasion of Ukraine’,” he said. “I’ve said it everywhere and I’ll say it again now. We know all there is to know about our country. This is nothing new.”
Yekaterinburg authorities said he was being investigated for "discrediting the Russian Army,” an offense for which he could face up to 5 years in prison.
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Shortly after the February 24 invasion, Russian lawmakers passed legislation criminalizing any criticism regarding the armed forces or the conduct of the Ukraine war, which the Kremlin calls a “special military operation.”
According to the watchdog group OVD-Info, more than 3,800 administrative, or misdemeanor, cases have been brought against people between March and August on the charge of “discrediting the armed forces. In all, 224 Russians have been prosecuted on anti-war charges.
A charismatic and sometimes profane public figure, Roizman served from 2013 to 2018, when authorities ended direct elections for mayor in Yekaterinburg, a city of 1.5 million people in the Ural Mountains industrial belt. Since leaving office, he gained a popular following for his campaigns to raise money for ill children, and he is known for his regular jogs around the city, which attract supporters and journalists alike.
Since Russia’s February 24 invasion, Roizman has been outspoken in his criticism of the war, and has been fined three times on misdemeanor charges of "discrediting" the Russian Army.
He was also fined 85,000 rubles ($1,417) for contempt for authorities after reposting a screenshot on Instagram of a tweet under a statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about Ukraine.
The screenshot had a caption reading "Yevgeny Roizman versus impudent liars."