Russian opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman was shown being detained at his home in a video published on social media on Tuesday, in the latest move by authorities to punish critics of the war in Ukraine.
Video of the arrest showed Roizman, former mayor of the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, being taken away by law enforcement officials.
Roizman was seen in the video telling reporters that he was being investigated under a law against discrediting the armed forces. He said he was being arrested โbasically for one phrase, โthe invasion of Ukraine’โ.
Asked where he had said that, he replied: โIโve said it everywhere and Iโll say it now.โ
State news agency TASS cited Yekaterinburg security services as confirming the reason for the arrest, saying Roizman was being investigated for โdiscrediting the Russian armyโ.
The offence, newly introduced after Russiaโs Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, carries a prison sentence of up to five years.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a โspecial military operationโ and people risk prosecution if they use the words โwarโ or โinvasionโ.
Roizman, an outspoken supporter of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, became one of Russiaโs most prominent opposition figures in 2013, after he was elected mayor of Yekaterinburg, Russiaโs fourth largest city. It was one of a string of opposition wins that capitalised on discontent with Vladimir Putinโs return as Russian president in 2012.
Popular and charismatic, Roizman was nevertheless controversial for an aggressive crackdown on drug users in the city. In 2018, he resigned as mayor after regional lawmakers voted to abolish the job in what Roizman said was a politically motivated move against him.
Dmitry Gudkov, a former opposition member of Russiaโs State Duma, wrote on Telegram that Roizmanโs arrest was โrevenge for speaking truth about a war that has already been going for half a yearโ.
