SILENCED

Russian Politician Arrested for Uttering ‘One Phrase’ About Ukraine

State media said Yevgeny Roizman was being investigated for discrediting the Russian army.

A Russian opposition politician said he was detained by authorities for using “one phrase” about Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. In a video showing Yevgeny Roizman being arrested at his home, Roizman could be seen telling reporters that he was being investigated under a law prohibiting any kind of discrediting of the Russian military. He specifically said he was being arrested “basically for one phrase, ‘the invasion of Ukraine.’” When asked where he had used the phrase, Roizman answered: “I’ve said it everywhere and I’ll say it now.” Russian state media confirmed that Roizman—the former mayor of the Urals city of Yekaterinburg—was arrested by security services there over his alleged “discrediting the Russian army.” The draconian law, which carries a sentence of up to five years imprisonment, was cooked up after Kremlin tanks rumbled across the Ukrainian border in February. Russians who refer to the war as a “war” or “invasion” instead of a “special military operation” are at risk of prosecution.