French citizen convicted in Russia of collecting military information and gets 3 years in prison

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court on Monday convicted a French citizen of collecting military information and sentenced him to three years in prison.

Laurent Vinatier, who was arrested in Moscow in June, earlier admitted guilt, setting the stage for a fast-tracked trial. His lawyers’ asked the court to sentence him to a fine.

In his remarks before the verdict, Vinatier, speaking Russian, reaffirmed that he fully recognized his guilt and asked the judge for clemency. “I’m asking the Russian Federation to forgive me for failing to observe Russian laws,” he said.

France’s Foreign Ministry described Vinatier’s sentence as “extremely severe” and called for his immediate release.

The 48-year-old political scholar said he fell in love with Russia 20 years ago when he began studying the country and concluded his comments with a verse by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin about having patience that better days lie ahead.

Detentions on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia and its heavily politicized legal system since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

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Vinatier’s arrest came as tensions flared between Moscow and Paris following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine.

Russian authorities accused Vinatier of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information about Russia’s “military and military-technical activities” that could be used to the detriment of the country’s security.

In addition to criticizing his sentence, the French Foreign Ministry urged the abolition of Russia’s laws on foreign agents. It said the legislation “contributes to a systematic violation of fundamental freedoms in Russia, like the freedom of association, the freedom of opinion and the freedom of expression.”

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

The prosecutors charged that Vinatier had collected military information during his meetings with three Russian citizens in Moscow in 2021-22. The Russian citizens weren’t named in the indictment.

The charges carried a prison sentence of up to five years, but the prosecutors asked for 3 1/4 years in prison, given that he had fully admitted his guilt and cooperated with investigators.

Still, Vinatier’s lawyers argued the sentence sought by prosecutors was too harsh and asked the judge to sentence him to a fine. They pointed at his career as a political scholar who focused on studying Russia and emphasized that his books and articles have been friendly to the country.

While asking the judge for clemency, Vinatier pointed at his two children and his elderly parents he has to take care of.

The charges against Vinatier relate to a law that requires anyone collecting information on military issues to register with authorities as a foreign agent.

Human rights activists have criticized the law and other recent legislation as part of a Kremlin crackdown on independent media and political activists intended to stifle criticism of its actions in Ukraine.