Russia’s Last Opposition Mayor Detained for Anti-War YouTube Videos – Reports

Yevgeny Roizman, the former opposition mayor of one of Russia’s largest cities, has been detained on criminal charges surrounding his public stance against the invasion of Ukraine, media outlets reported Wednesday. Ex-Yekaterinburg mayor Roizman could face up to five years in prison on criminal charges of “public acts aimed at discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.” Footage of his detention shared by the Kremlin-linked Telegram channel Mash showed masked agents shouting “police, open up!” while entering an apartment block. The video cuts off when Roizman is shown opening his door and a plainclothes representative surrounded by the agents explaining what he is being charged with.

Authorities also raided several properties linked to Roizman, including a Christian Orthodox museum and several Yekaterinburg offices of the politician’s foundation, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing local security services. Roizman confirmed the charges against him, telling journalists posted outside his building that the criminal case has been initiated “in Moscow.” TASS, citing Yekaterinburg’s unnamed law enforcement sources, reported that Roizman was detained “because of videos on his YouTube channel.” The ex-mayor has previously been fined three times under Russia’s laws against “discrediting” the military that were passed in the wake of the Ukraine invasion. More than 200 people, including prominent Kremlin critics Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin, face criminal prosecution for voicing opposition to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Roizman served as mayor of Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city, from 2013 to 2018, when authorities scrapped mayoral elections in a move that consolidated power within Moscow. He was a member of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, in 2003-07.

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Dozens Moscow Metro Passengers Detained on Russia Flag Day

Moscow police have detained dozens of metro passengers in what appeared to be a raid to prevent mass actions on Russia’s National Flag Day on Monday at a time when anti-war activism has been virtually outlawed, an independent watchdog reported. OVD-Info, a police-monitoring website that runs a legal hotline for those detained, said 33 activists and journalists have been apprehended across the Russian capital’s metro system. Some of them were flagged for detention by the Moscow Metro’s facial recognition technology, according to the watchdog.  One journalist held in a southern Moscow police station said at one point police sirens went off “once a minute” with the detention of another person. Three detained passengers had been previously charged under Russia’s laws that virtually choked off anti-war speech since the country invaded Ukraine in February, according to OVD-Info. At least one activist was detained twice in the morning and evening.

Most of the activists and journalists have been released later without being charged, OVD-Info reported later Monday evening. One was reportedly charged with “discrediting the Russian military” for wearing clothes that said “I’m against war.” Criticizing the war or sharing non-Kremlin-approved information about it are both punishable under new laws passed shortly after the invasion. More than 15,000 anti-war protesters have been detained across Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Prominent Putin critics Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza were put in pre-trial jail for denouncing Moscow's Ukraine offensive. They are among 212 mostly private citizens facing criminal prosecution for voicing opposition to the war. All of Russia’s independent media has either been blocked or shut down since February, with many journalists fleeing the country to escape prosecution.  Russian authorities have blocked some 138,000 websites and also outlawed Facebook and Instagram as “extremist” organizations, as well as restricted access to Twitter, since the war began. National Flag Day detentions follow similar police actions on Victory Day and Russia Day in Moscow and around the country in May and June. National Flag Day has been celebrated every year on Aug. 22 since then-President Boris Yeltsin re-introduced it in 1994.

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Gunman fires shots inside Canberra Airport, detained

Images posted on social media showed a police officer restraining a man on the ground inside the terminal as the emergency alarm sounded in the capital's main airport.

The airport was evacuated and locked down, leading to the suspension of flights. (Reuters)

A gunman has fired about five shots inside Canberra's main airport, sending passengers fleeing but injuring no-one before he was detained by Australian police.

The airport was evacuated and locked down after Sunday's incident, leading to the suspension of flights.

Images posted on social media showed a police officer restraining a man on the ground inside the terminal as the emergency alarm sounded in the capital's main airport.

"A male has entered Canberra Airport in the departures area. He has sat in one of the areas adjacent to the glass windows," detective acting superintendent Dave Cr aft told reporters outside the airport building.

"After approximately five minutes, this male has removed a firearm from his possession and let off approximately five rounds," he added.

Craft said the crime scene indicated that the man had fired shots at the glass inside the terminal. "There was no shots directed at people, or persons, passengers or staff," he said.

Have been briefed by the AFP on the incident at Canberra Airport this afternoon. I am advised a man has been detained and there is no ongoing threat present.

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 14, 2022

Situation under control

Several apparent bullet impacts were visible on the glass front of the airport, according to images shown by Australia's public broadcaster ABC.

A woman identified only as Helen was quoted as telling a reporter for The Guardian newspaper that she saw a man "shooting into the air" not far from the check-in counter, describing him as being middle-aged and "clean cut".

Police said the man was taken into custody and a firearm was recovered. He was being detained at a police station in the city. After examining the airport's closed-circuit television images, police said they believed the man had acted alone.

The situation was now "contained", police said, describing the airport as an "active crime scene". Police said the motive behind the shooting was not immediately clear.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had been briefed on the shooting incident. "I am advised a man has been detained and there is no ongoing threat present," the prime minister said in a statement.

Canberra airport said it was working with airlines to restart flights by Sunday afternoon, but some flights had been cancelled.

About 1:30pm today police were called to the Canberra Airport following reports of gunshots in the main terminal building. Shortly after, one person was taken into custody and a firearm was recovered. There is no immediate threat to public safety. Details: https://t.co/Eh4iLDeMwY pic.twitter.com/8LmZXycgCG

— ACT Policing (@ACTPolicing) August 14, 2022

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

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Venezuela demands Argentina to return detained plane

BOGOTA, Colombia 

An official delegation from Venezuela protested Thursday outside Argentina's embassy in Caracas against the impounding of a plane and its crew in Buenos Aires since June.

Venezuelan Minister of Transport Ramon Velasquez and lawmakers gathered outside the embassy, demanding Argentina to "return the plane and crew!"

The plane was detained in Argentina’s capital on June 8 by order of a judge, who opened an investigation against the crew, consisting of 14 Venezuelans and five Iranians, for "espionage and terrorism.”

The Boeing 747 entered Argentina on June 6 with a cargo of auto parts from Mexico. Unable to refuel in Argentina due to US sanctions, it departed for Montevideo, but Uruguayan authorities denied it access and it flew back to Buenos Aires, where it was ordered by a judge to be detained.

The US Department of Justice on Aug. 2 asked Argentina for permission to confiscate the Iranian plane sold to Venezuelan owners, arguing that it was linked to international terrorist groups, the agency said in a statement.

On July 19, a US court in the District of Columbia issued an order to seize the plane on the grounds that there was an "unauthorized transfer" of the plane from Mahan Air, an Iranian airline affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, which Washington says is a “designated terrorist organization,” to EMTRASUR, a Venezuelan cargo airline and subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-owned company Conviasa, which is also under sanctions from the US Treasury.

On Thursday, the Argentine judge admitted a request from the US to seize the plane. The aircraft, which remains at Ezeiza International Airport outside Buenos Aires, was inspected Thursday by agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to local news.

The intervention of the US resulted in Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordering a team of "experts" to go to Argentina to fight the "battle for Venezuela.” He said the US was attempting to "steal" the plane and has questioned Argentina's justice system for "kneeling before" the US.

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