As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its 6th month, Russian media reported a house search that resulted in the arrest of the opposition leader and former mayor of Yekaterinburg, Yevgeny Roizman.
A loud critic of the Russian military offensive against Ukraine, Yevgeny Roizman has been one of few former Russian officials who openly expressed opposition to the Russian invasion, calling it a "Russian betrayal".
#Russian media reports that during the search of the apartment of opposition politician and former mayor of #Yekaterinenburg Yevgeny #Roizman, the police has found a business card of the former head of the Security Service of #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/GcAQJymYyl
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 24, 2022
Online news outlets have posted several photos showing the police arriving at Yevgeny Roizman's house before arresting him.
While the arrest of Yevgeny Roizman is officially related to him "violating" the country's ban on criticizing armed forces, social media accounts posted photos of a business card that was allegedly found in his house, that is believed to have the contact information for a former head of the Security Service of Ukraine.
The business card has been interpreted as "proof" that Yevgeny Roizman may have been providing intelligence information for the Ukrainians, particularly as he is a former mayor of the city of Yekaterinburg, to the east of Moscow.
A house search takes place at the Yevgeny #Roizman Foundation. pic.twitter.com/WqkDizhpR1
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 24, 2022
Yevgeny Roizman has also repeatedly used the word "invasion" when describing the Russian war in Ukraine, an accusation he did not deny.
During the first few weeks of the Russian war in Ukraine, which started on the 24th of February, thousands of Russians were reportedly arrested for brief periods for taking part in anti-war protests. Later on, the Russian government passed strict regulations banning any criticism of the Russian army.
