Ex-mayor arrested on charges of discrediting Russian army

MOSCOW (AP) — The previous mayor of Russia’s fourth-largest metropolis was arrested Wednesday on expenses of discrediting the nation’s army, a part of a crackdown on critics of Moscow’s army motion in Ukraine.

Police arrested Yevgeny Roizman, 59 who served because the mayor of Yekaterinburg in 2013-2018, following searches at his condominium and workplace.

Roizman advised reporters he was charged underneath a brand new legislation adopted after Russia despatched troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. He faces as much as 5 years in jail if convicted.

Russian courts fined Roizman earlier this 12 months on comparable expenses.

Roizman, a pointy critic of the Kremlin, is among the most seen and charismatic opposition figures in Russia. Throughout his tenure as mayor, he loved broad recognition in Yekaterniburg, a metropolis of 1.5 million within the Ural Mountains.

Whereas police escorted him from his condominium Wednesday, Roizman advised reporters that he would probably be dropped at Moscow for investigation.

Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin despatched troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russia’s Kremlin-controlled parliament managed accepted laws that outlawed disparaging the army and the unfold of “false info” about what the Kremlin describes as a “particular army operation” within the neighboring nation.

Courts have given fines and jail sentences to people who’ve criticized the Russian motion in Ukraine.