French Researcher Sentenced to Three Years in Russian Prison for ‘Foreign Agent’ Law Violation

Laurent Vinatier, a French researcher working for the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), has been sentenced to three years in a Russian penal colony after being convicted of violating the country’s “foreign agent” law, Al Jazeera reports.

Vinatier, 48, was arrested in June amidst heightened tensions between Moscow and the West over the war in Ukraine. He was accused of gathering information on Russia’s military without registering as a “foreign agent,” a charge he denied.

In a statement to the court before his sentencing, Vinatier expressed his love for Russia and apologized for breaking the law.

France has denounced Vinatier’s detention as arbitrary and called for his immediate release. President Emmanuel Macron has emphatically denied that Vinatier worked for the French state.

Vinatier, a long-time researcher on the former Soviet Union, was arrested at a time when tensions were escalating following Macron’s suggestion that France might be prepared to send troops to Ukraine under certain circumstances.

Relations between France and Russia have further deteriorated since August, when French authorities initiated an investigation into Pavel Durov, the Russian founder of the Telegram messaging app. Durov is facing accusations of involvement in crimes such as fraud, money laundering, and child pornography, allegations his lawyer has labeled as absurd.