Laurent Vinatier Russia: Trial of French citizen next week

MOSCOW –

The trial of a French citizen arrested in Russia is set to begin next week on charges of illegally gathering information on military affairs, court officials said on Monday.

The first hearing in the case against Laurent Vinatier is scheduled for September 3, authorities said. If convicted, Vinatier faces up to five years in prison.

Vinatier was arrested in the Russian capital in June as tensions flared between Moscow and Paris after French President Emmanuel Macron commented on the possible deployment of French troops in Ukraine.

Russian authorities accused Vinatier of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information on Russia's “military and military-technical activities” that could be used to the detriment of the country's security. He has admitted his guilt, according to Russian news agencies.

Vinatier is an adviser to the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a non-governmental organization based in Switzerland. The non-governmental organization said in June that it was doing “everything possible to help him.”

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

Human rights activists criticise the law and other recent draft bills as part of the Kremlin's crackdown on independent media and political activists to suppress criticism of its actions in Ukraine.

Since the deployment of troops to Ukraine in February 2022, arrests for espionage and the collection of sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia.