Russia jails French researcher Laurent Vinatier for three years
Al Jazeera
Vinatier, who works for a Swiss conflict mediation group, was detained as ties between France and Russia deteriorated.
A Russian court has sentenced French researcher Laurent Vinatier to three years in prison after finding him guilty of breaching the country’s “foreign agent” law.
Vinatier, who works for the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), was arrested in June amid rising tensions between Moscow and Kyiv’s Western allies over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The 48-year-old was charged with gathering information on Russia’s military without being registered as a “foreign agent”.
Judge Natalya Cheprasova ignored defence pleas for a fine and sentenced Vinatier to three years in a penal colony, two years less than the maximum possible sentence.
In a speech to the court before he was sentenced, Vinatier said he loved Russia, apologised for breaking the law, and even recited a verse by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
