French citizen convicted in Russia of collecting military information and sentenced to 3 years in prison

MOSCOW – A Russian court on Monday convicted a French citizen of collecting military information and sentenced him to three years in prison.

Laurent Vinatier, who was arrested in Moscow in June, previously admitted guilt, paving the way for an accelerated trial. His lawyers asked the court to sentence him to a fine.

In his remarks before the verdict, Vinatier, who spoke Russian, reaffirmed his full acknowledgment of his guilt and asked the judge for leniency. “I ask the Russian Federation to forgive me for not complying with Russian laws,” he said.

The 48-year-old political scholar said he fell in love with Russia 20 years ago when he started studying the country and concluded his comments with a verse from Russian poet Alexander Pushkin about being patient that better days lie ahead.

Arrests on charges of espionage and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly common in Russia and its heavily politicized legal system since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022.

Vinatier’s arrest came as tensions flared between Moscow and Paris following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments on the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine.

Russian authorities accused Vinatier of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information about Russia’s “military and military-technical activities” that could be used to the detriment of the country’s security.

Vinatier is a consultant for the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Swiss-based non-governmental organization. In June, the company said it was doing “everything possible to help him.”

Prosecutors accused Vinatier of collecting military information during his meetings with three Russian citizens in Moscow in 2021-2022. The Russian citizens were not named in the indictment.

The charge carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison, but prosecutors asked for 3 1/4 years in prison since he had fully admitted his guilt and cooperated with investigators.

Still, Vinatier’s lawyers argued that the sentence demanded by prosecutors was too harsh and asked the judge to sentence him to a fine. They pointed to his career as a political scientist who focused on studying Russia and emphasized that his books and articles were friendly to the country.

While asking the judge for leniency, Vinatier pointed to his two children and his elderly parents whom he must care for.

The charges against Vinatier relate to a law that requires anyone collecting information on military matters to register with authorities as a foreign agent.

Human rights activists have criticized the law and other recent legislation as part of the Kremlin’s crackdown on independent media and political activists aimed at stifling criticism of its actions in Ukraine.

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