Eugenia Roizmana /Евгения Ройзмана trends on twitter

Russian war dissident Roizman detained in Yekat

RUSSIA -UKRAIN WAR

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He was one of the last remaining prominent opposition politicians in Russia who hadn't been killed, arrested, or forced out of the country.



As Yevgeny Roizman was being led out of his flat by police this morning, a waiting journalist asked him why he was being charged.



"Just for one phrase," said Mr Roizman, 59, "'The invasion of Ukraine.'"



He has had a serious criminal case opened against him for "discrediting the Russian armed forces".



It is a common charge used against anti-war activists in Russia. Even using the words "war" or "invasion" here can lead to a visit from the police.



Mr Roizman could face five years in prison if convicted, Russian state media reported. Police carried out searches in the opposition politician's flat and the office of his charity fund. Later, the interior ministry said he would be taken to Moscow whilst under investigation.




Pro-Kremlin media instantly began reporting that police had seized "business cards of foreign politicians".



Apparently the most shocking discovery was "the business card of the former head of the Ukrainian Security Service Igor Smeshko". This is a common tactic used by Kremlin propaganda, to characterise the anti-Putin opposition as anti-patriots and potential spies in the pay of foreign powers.



Over 16,400 people have been detained in Russia for protesting against the war, according to independent, Moscow-based human rights group OVD-Info.



These detentions were for a range of offences, it says - from street demonstrations to putting anti-war stickers on windows.



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Yevgeny Roizman was a popular opposition politician who achieved rare electoral success. He served as the mayor of Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city, between 2013 and 2018. In an unusual move, the local governor said on Wednesday he deserved "justice and respect" - not something state officials usually request for such an outspoken critic of the war.



Some here speculated that the authorities may have waited until Ukrainian Independence Day to swoop in and arrest Russia's last remaining prominent opposition figure.




Wednesday also marks six months since the start of Russia's military campaign on 24 February, although state TV made almost no mention of this anniversary - presumably to avoid reminding Russians of the drawn-out nature of the operation in Ukraine.



In interviews, Mr Roizman was often asked why he hadn't fled Russia, like so many of his fellow activists. "I can't flee," Mr Roizman said in March. "It is unacceptable for me to do that."



He had previously been fined a total of four times for his comments critical of the "special military operation", as the Kremlin likes to call the war in Ukraine.



One of his fines related to a Twitter post he made criticising Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's comments about the war. A screenshot of the tweet later reportedly sold at auction for $3,200 (£2,715).