(19 May 2023)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Yekaterinburg - 19 May 2023
1. Mid of ex-mayor of Yekaterinburg Yevgeny Roizman sitting down in court room
2. Close of Roizman
3. Mid of Roizman talking to his lawyer
4. Various of judge reading verdict
5. Mid of Roizman and lawyer listening to verdict
6. Various of Roizman signing papers
7. Roizman walking along corridor leaving court
8. Wide of Roizman surrounded by his supporters, people applauding
9. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Yevgeny Roizman, ex-mayor of Yekaterinburg:
"It was unexpected, I won't lie. Secondly, I believe that this is an acquittal in the current conditions. Well, I think you understand everything yourself."
10. Close of flag on court building
11. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Yevgeny Roizman, ex-mayor of Yekaterinburg:
""My task was, first of all, not to get to jail, and secondly, not to tell something that could lead to another term for myself, and stay on my positions, which, in general, I think I succeeded. And once again I want to thank everyone who supported me, especially the residents of Yekaterinburg, my hometown. Well, in general, all good people."
12. Mid of court building exterior
13. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Yevgeny Roizman, ex-mayor of Yekaterinburg:
"(I will resume) personal meetings (with people) by all means. I have another thing now - while this criminal case was going on, I was recognized as a foreign agent, and this imposes a number of very serious restrictions, which I will now also think about how to live with it. Because this is a serious story. It is clear that it is vile and unfair, but we have what we have. You don't give way to a bus just because you're polite."
14. People at entrance to court
15. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vladislav Imadzhapov, Roizman's lawyer:
"The persecution is based on the allowance of a statement. The statements concerned the military and political situation. Nevertheless, no one has cancelled Articles 28 and 29 (of the Constitution) in our country, which guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of opinion and freedom of dissemination of these opinions."
16. Wide of Roizman among people
17. Wide of court building exterior

STORYLINE:
The dissident former mayor of Russia’s fourth-largest city has avoided prison despite being found guilty on Friday in a trial over his criticism of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.

Yevgeny Roizman, 60, a sharp critic of the Kremlin, is one of the most visible and charismatic opposition figures in Russia. He enjoyed broad popularity while serving as mayor of Yekaterinburg, a city of 1.5 million people in the Ural Mountains.

Roizman, who was mayor from 2013 to 2018, was arrested last August on charges of discrediting the Russian military, under a new law adopted after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. State prosecutors at the time singled out a video broadcast Roizman made in July 2022 in which he criticized Russia’s intervention.

While the charge of discrediting the Russian military could carry a prison sentence, a Yekaterinburg court on Friday instead fined Roizman 260,000 rubles ($3250), in line with a request made the day before by the prosecution.

Roizman has repeatedly denied guilt, and his lawyers Thursday called for him to be cleared of all charges.

Despite this, the-ex mayor told reporters Friday that he didn’t plan to appeal the verdict, which he described as “an acquittal in the current conditions.”

Russian courts have regularly handed out fines and, occasionally, prison terms for public criticism of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, as part of a sweeping crackdown on dissident activities,



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