Russia jails French researcher for three years

A Russian court on Monday sentenced a French researcher to three years in a penal colony after finding him guilty of breaching a “foreign agent” law.

The trial of Laurent Vinatier, who works for a Swiss conflict mediation NGO, comes amid tensions between Russia and the West over the Ukraine war.

The 48-year-old was arrested in Moscow in June and charged with gathering information on Russia’s military without being registered as a “foreign agent”.

Judge Natalya Cheprasova at Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky district court ruled that Vinatier was guilty and sentenced him to three years in a penal colony, two years less than the maximum possible sentence, an AFP journalist in the courtroom heard.

Wearing jeans and a pale blue shirt, Vinatier looked grave but calm as the verdict was read. He was not allowed to speak to the media.

His lawyer Pavel Mamonov told journalists: “We consider the sentence harsh and will definitely appeal.”

The Frenchman had acknowledged violating Russian law, saying he was unaware he should have registered as a “foreign agent”.

The prosecutor had requested a sentence of three years and three months, saying Vinatier “repented” but the case involved “significant threats connected to Russia’s security”.

Ahead of the verdict, Vinatier gave a final speech in Russian, even quoting the national poet, Alexander Pushkin.

“I agree with the charge fully. I fully admit guilt,” he told the court.

“I ask for a merciful and just sentence in the case,” he added, apologising to Russia for breaking the law as well as to his NGO and family.

He read a poem by Pushkin titled “If Life Deceives You”, with the lines: “The heart lives in the future… Everything is momentary, everything will pass.”

‘Extreme severity’

The “foreign agent” law has been widely used to crack down on critics of the Kremlin but not usually foreign citizens.

French President Emmanuel Macron had demanded Vinatier’s release, saying the “propaganda” against him “does not match reality”.

On Monday, Paris denounced the “extreme severity” of the sentence and called for Vinatier’s “immediate release”.

“The ‘foreign agent’ legislation contributes to a systematic violation of fundamental freedoms in Russia,” French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.

Vinatier was charged over a requirement introduced in 2022 that people who gather information on Russia’s military and arms that could harm the country’s national security, must register as “foreign agents”. He was not charged with espionage.

Tensions between Moscow and Paris are running high after France charged Russian-born Telegram founder Pavel Durov in August over illegal content on the popular social media platform, with the Kremlin warning against “political persecution”.

France has also strongly supported Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s offensive and is training thousands of Ukrainian troops.

Vinatier is an adviser with the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and is a veteran researcher on Russia and other post-Soviet countries.

The Centre “works to prevent and resolve armed conflicts around the world through mediation and discreet diplomacy”, it says in a statement on its website.

‘Love for Russia’

According to sources interviewed by AFP, the Frenchman had been working for years on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, before Russia launched its full-scale offensive in February 2022.

In his final speech in court, Vinatier said that 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 lived a Russian life, that’s who I am,” he said.

Russia has arrested several Westerners and charged them with serious crimes during its Ukraine offensive, which ruptured ties with the West.

Washington has accused Moscow of arresting US citizens on baseless charges to use them as bargaining chips to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad.

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