A Russian court fined rival Yevgeny Roizman on Friday for criticizing Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, a relatively minor punishment amid Russia’s relentless crackdown. The most popular former mayor of Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Urals, was found guilty. “respectable” The Russian military and fined 260,000 rubles (about 3,000 euros), according to Russian press agencies, which is what the prosecutor demanded.

According to the same source, Mr. Roïzman will also be subject to a number of restrictions, including bans on using the internet and giving interviews, until his conviction is upheld on appeal or until the appeal deadline expires.

It is surprising that the 60-year-old former city councilor was given a simple fine, while other key opponents or anonymous Russians have been sentenced to heavy prison terms on similar charges. Mr Roisman, quoted by news outlets, said he did not plan to appeal his sentence. “In the current situation, I find it liberating.”he said.

Evgueni Roizman was charged “respectable” In a July 2022 video he posted on YouTube, the Russian military criticized Russian military action in Ukraine. He faces up to five years in prison under a law adopted in Russia after the offensive began in Ukraine in late February 2022, a repressive text that was recently toughened.

Yevgeny Roizman, who led the city of Yekaterinburg, a city of 1.5 million people between 2013 and 2018, is considered one of the last major opposition figures left in Russia and, this time, escaped a harsh prison sentence. After being charged in August, Mr. Roisman was not detained but banned from using the internet, including feeding his highly active Twitter feed and giving interviews.