Yevgeny Roizman, one of the last Russian opponents, is unlikely to go to prison

Russian opposition figure and former mayor of Yekaterinburg Yevgeny Roizman, accused of "discrediting" the army for its comments on the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, in court in Yekaterinburg, May 18, 2023. AFP - ANNA YURIEVA

Text by: Anissa El Jabri Follow

3 min

The former mayor of Yekaterinburg, an important voice of the opposition, was prosecuted for discrediting the army. The prosecutor requested this Thursday, May 18, a very heavy fine, 3,000 euros, the equivalent of five months of the average salary, but no prison. A relative and extremely rare clemency that can be explained by the support received by this very popular figure in Russia

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From our correspondent in Moscow,

He faced up to five years in prison. Yevgeny Roizman walked out of court at midday. Certainly still under house arrest, certainly forbidden to use social networks, but free. Throughout the procedure, many anonymous people had shown their support for the former mayor of Yekaterinburg, some of them picketing alone with a sign. Other very famous figures, unanimously appreciated in Russia, such as the singer Alla Pugacheva, had also spoken. On the day of the opening of his trial, Evégny Roïzman, classified as a "foreign agent", was still signing autographs.

► Read also: Russia: opening of the trial of Yevgeny Roïzman, former mayor of Yekaterinburg

Asked about the role of this broad and rare support in Russia as he left court, the 60-year-old former mayor of Yekaterinburg replied: "I am very happy. And, of course, it obliges me. On the one hand, I still think it's time to slow down the pace of life. But on the other hand, I understand how much people expect me not to do it."

During his last words before the judges, this critic of the Kremlin thanked one by one all the famous figures, artists, historians, who supported him, but also the anonymous. "I am grateful to all the people of Yekaterinburg," he said. "I feel your support. As far as I'm concerned, I've already had a good life, I have no regrets and I'm not afraid of anything."

Yevgeny Roizman had pleaded "not guilty" to discrediting the Russian army. Many prominent and anonymous Russians have been imprisoned on this basis. Around him, the main opposition figures who remained in Russia were thrown into prison, such as Alexei Navalny, Ilya Yashin or Vladimir Kara-Murza. Last December, opposition leader Ilya Yashin was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for condemning the offensive in Ukraine. For his part, opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison in April, a judgment of rare severity, for "high treason", spreading "false information" about the Russian army and illegal work for an "undesirable" organization. A Russian opposition activist, Mikhail Kriguer, who has publicly criticized the Russian intervention in Ukraine on several occasions, was sentenced Wednesday, May 17, to seven years in a prison camp in Moscow for "glorifying terrorism". Prosecuted for his Facebook posts written two years ago, he called the accusations a "pretext" to punish him for his pro-Ukrainian stance.

At the trial of Yevgeny Roizman, however, the prosecutor considered that the alleged offence was "of low gravity". He also referred to "extenuating circumstances" such as dependent infants and his charitable activities. A relative clemency that has already aroused the first very angry reactions of nationalist circles.

► Read also: Russia: Roïzman, last great voice of the opposition, arrested for having "discredited the army"

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