Russian court sentences French researcher to 3 years in prison

A Moscow court has sentenced a French citizen to three years in prison after finding him guilty of gathering military information without first registering as a “foreign agent”, independent Russian news outlet Mediazona reported on Monday.

Laurent Vinatier, a researcher on Russia and the former Soviet Union, was detained in Moscow on 7 June, and pleaded guilty to the charges against him on the same day. In an effort to receive a lighter sentence, his case was tried under a special protocol that did not require evidence to be presented in court, according to Medizona.

Prosecutors alleged that in April 2021 and August 2022, Vinatier had met with three Russians to gather information “about the mobilisation and combat training of troops,” as well as the political situation in Russia, which “could be used against state security”.

During the hearing, Vinatier’s lawyers argued that the sentence being sought by prosecutors — three years and three months —- was overly harsh and asked the judge to fine him instead, adding that Vinatier had two children to support, including one with a disability.

A fluent Russian speaker with a doctorate in military conflicts in the former Soviet Union from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, Vinatier has since 2014 worked at the Switzerland-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue as an adviser on its Eurasia/Russia Programme.

In his final statement to the court, cited by AFP, Vinatier said that he had been working for years in Russia. “I fell in love with Russia. My wife is Russian, my friends are Russian. I lived a Russian life, that’s who I am,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has criticised the “propaganda” around Vinatier’s case, arguing that it “does not match reality”, has demanded his immediate release by the Russian authorities, AFP reported.