Ex-mayor arrested on charges of discrediting Russian army
FILE - Yekaterinburg mayor Yevgeny Roizman talks to The Associated Press in his office in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on Feb. 12, 2018. The former mayor of Russia's fourth largest city was arrested on Wednesday Aug. 24, 2022 on charges of discrediting the country's military, the latest move in the authorities crackdown on critics of Moscow's action in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Nataliya Vasilyeva, File)
MOSCOW (AP) — The former mayor of Russia’s fourth-largest city has been arrested on charges of discrediting the country’s military. It’s part of a crackdown on critics of Moscow’s military action in Ukraine.
Police arrested Yevgeny Roizman on Wednesday following searches at his apartment and office.
The 59-year-old served as the mayor of Yekaterinburg in 2013-2018.
He told reporters he was charged under a new law adopted after Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 that outlawed disparaging the military and the spread of “false information” about what the Kremlin describes as a “special military operation” in the neighboring country.
Roizman faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
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