A new criminal case has been opened against French political scientist Laurent Vinatier, who was previously sentenced in Russia to three years in a penal colony under an article on collecting information of a military nature without being registered as a “foreign agent”, under a stricter article – espionage.
Vinatier, who worked for the Swiss Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, was detained in the summer of 2024 in Moscow. In October of the same year, he was sentenced to three years in a colony for collecting information that could be used against Russia’s security without registering as a “foreign agent.” The political scientist pleaded guilty, and the case was considered under a special procedure, which provides for mitigation of the sentence.
After the verdict Vinatier was not sent to a colony, but was, as “Mediazona” writes, in Moscow’s SIZO-7. In early August, the “VChK-OGPU” telegram channel wrote that he had been transferred to the Lefortovo SIZO. There, in particular, defendants in cases of high treason and espionage are held there.
The reasons for the transfer were not reported at the time. On 20 August, the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow received a petition to extend Vinovatye’s arrest. It is indicated that he is accused under the article on espionage. The hearing is scheduled for 25 August.
Details of the new charge are not yet available. Russian security agencies have not yet reported on it. There are no comments from Vinatier’s representatives either.
Laurent Vinatier is a political scientist specialising in Russia, Chechnya, the Caucasus and Central Asia. In his last statement before his sentence was announced last year, Vinatier apologised to Russian authorities for not following the law. He said he was in love with Russia and married to a Russian woman. The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement at the time calling Vinatier’s punishment unduly harsh and criticised Russia’s legislation on so-called foreign agents. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking about the detention of his fellow citizen, said that he did not work for the French intelligence services or other French organisations.