opponent Yevgeny Roizman sentenced to a simple fine for criticizing the war in Ukraine

A light punishment in a context of relentless repression. A Russian court condemned, Friday, May 19, the opponent Yevgeny Roizman to pay a fine for his criticisms of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.

The hugely popular former mayor of Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Urals, was found guilty of “discredited” the Russian army and sentenced to pay a fine of 260,000 rubles (about 3,000 euros at the current exchange rate), which is what the prosecutor had requested, according to Russian press agencies.

Evguéni Roizman is also subject to several restrictions, including a ban on using the Internet and giving interviews, until his conviction is confirmed on appeal or after the time limit for filing appeals has expired.

“It’s really very little”

The conviction of the 60-year-old former city councilor to a simple fine is surprising, while other prominent opponents or anonymous Russians have received heavy prison sentences on the basis of similar charges. “It’s really very little, what they ask”said Yevgeni Roizman.

Yevgeny Roizman was accused of having “discredited” the Russian army in a video he posted on YouTube in July 2022, in which he criticized the war in Ukraine. He risked up to five years in prison, under a law adopted in Russia in the wake of the launch of the offensive in Ukraine at the end of February 2022, a repressive text which has recently been further tightened.

Yevgeny Roizman, who led Yekaterinburg, a city of 1.5 million inhabitants, between 2013 and 2018, is considered one of the last major opposition figures to have remained in Russia and to have, for the moment , escaped a heavy prison sentence.