Russia jails French researcher Laurent Vinatier for three years | Courts News

Vinatier, who works for a Swiss conflict mediation group, was arrested as ties between France and Russia deteriorated.

A Russian court has sentenced French researcher Laurent Vinatier to three years in prison after finding him guilty of violating the law on foreign agents.

Vinatier, who works for the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), was arrested in June amid rising tensions between Moscow and Kiev’s Western allies over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The 48-year-old was accused of collecting information about the Russian military without being registered as a “foreign agent”.

Judge Natalya Cheprasova ignored the defense’s pleas for a fine and sentenced Vinatier to three years of penal colony, two years less than the maximum possible sentence.

In a speech to the court before he was sentenced, Vinatier said he loved Russia, apologized for breaking the law and even recited a verse by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.

Wearing a blue open-neck shirt and jeans, he stood behind metal bars and listened intently as the judge handed down her sentence. He blinked rapidly, but showed no visible emotion.

Vinatier was not allowed to speak to the media, but his lawyer Pavel Mamonov told journalists: “We find the punishment severe and will certainly appeal.”

France has classified Vinatier as arbitrarily detained and called for his release. President Emmanuel Macron has denied that Vinatier worked for the French state and described his arrest as part of a disinformation campaign by Moscow.

Following Monday’s court ruling, the government condemned the “extreme severity” of the sentence and reiterated its call for his release.

“The legislation on foreign agents contributes to a systematic violation of fundamental freedoms in Russia,” said spokesman Christophe Lemoine of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

In a statement after Vinatier’s arrest, HD said its employees work globally and “routinely meet with a wide range of officials, experts and other parties with the aim of advancing efforts to prevent, mitigate and resolve armed conflict.”

The “foreign agents” law has been widely used to crack down on Kremlin critics.

Vinatier, a former researcher into the former Soviet Union, was arrested at a time of rising tensions after Macron said France might be willing to send troops to Ukraine under certain circumstances.

Ties have further deteriorated since August, when French authorities placed Pavel Durov, the Russian founder of messaging app Telegram, under formal investigation for using the platform for crimes such as fraud, money laundering and child pornography. Durov’s lawyer has called the proceedings against him absurd.

In his final speech to the court, Vinatier said he first visited Russia 20 years ago and decided to work there.

“I fell in love with Russia. My wife is Russian, my friends are Russian. I have lived a Russian life, that is who I am,” he said.

Russia has arrested several Westerners during the Ukraine offensive and charged them with serious crimes.

On August 1, Russia freed American reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and more than a dozen others – including Russian opposition politicians – in the largest prisoner swap with the West since the Cold War.