On Friday, a court in Moscow ordered for a French citizen who is facing accusations of collecting intelligence on military matters in Russia to be detained until investigations and possible trial.
Laurent Vinatier was apprehended last Thursday while in the Russian capital as tension mounted between Moscow and Paris after President Emmanuel Macron said that France might deploy its troops in Ukraine.
The authorities claimed that Vinatier had not registered as a foreign agent whilst gathering information about “military and military-technical activities” detrimental to the nation’s security.
They did not explain the charges but argued that Vinatier made many trips to Russia over it. This Russian offense can result into up to five years’ imprisonment.
Vinatier appeared before a judge on 6th March. In the courtroom, his lawyer told Tass news agency that Vinatier confessed his guiltiness but said he didn’t know about that requirement. According to another report from Tass news agency, Vinatier also apologized to the court.
Pre-trial detention was ordered by the judge until August 5th.
Vinatier is an advisor at Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue which is an NGO (non-governmental organization).
A press release from the Geneva based institution later stated: “We are doing everything possible to help our colleague Laurent,” with these actions including securing legal representation and reaching out to Russian authorities.
“…as this case develops, we are trying to learn more about what led him being detained and why he stands accused of,” it added.
The accusations against him relate to a new law which makes it obligatory for anyone involved in research work concerning military issues must now register as ‘foreign agents’.
Human rights activists have criticised this legislation along with other laws passed recently within Kremlin’s offensive against free media and political activists in order to muffle criticism of Ukraine policy by its citizens
Since February 2022, when they invaded Ukraine, arrests on charges of espionage or collection of sensitive data have become more common in Russia.
Some recent major arrests include that of the Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was detained under espionage allegations in March 2023, and US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was also charged with Vinatier’s offence upon her arrest in October 2023.
