Russian investigators said Thursday they had detained a French national in Moscow on suspicion of gathering intelligence on the activities of the Russian military, joining a list of foreign nationals detained in the country since the invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian state news agency TASS identified the detainee, citing its police sources, as Laurent Vinatier. The agency said Vinatier worked as a consultant at the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, a nonprofit organization based in Switzerland.
On its website, the center states that its mission is “to prevent and resolve armed conflicts around the world through mediation and discreet diplomacy.”
In response to a request for comment, the nonprofit confirmed that Vinatier was working as a consultant and had been detained in Russia.
“We are working to obtain more details of the circumstances and secure Laurent’s release,” the center said.
Vinatier has worked with the nonprofit since 2014 as an advisor on its Russia/Eurasia program, according to his LinkedIn profile. He listed among his duties “facilitating meetings,” “meditating,” and “transmitting messages.” He also worked as a risk advisor, researcher and professor at various schools and institutes, focusing mainly on Russia.
Since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Western journalists and researchers visiting or living in Russia have found it increasingly risky to work in the country as they have been caught in the worst crisis in relations between Moscow and Russia. Western states in decades. .
Russia’s state Investigative Committee said in a statement that the detained French citizen would be charged with failing to register as a “foreign agent,” a charge that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
The statement said that during repeated visits to Russia, the detainee had held meetings with Russian citizens to “intentionally collect information in the field of military and military-technical activities of Russia” and that this information “can be used against the security of Russia.” . state.”
The agency released a video showing security officers detaining a man in jeans and a black shirt who was sitting on a terrace outside a restaurant in central Moscow. The man’s face appears blurry in the video.
Vinatier has joined a list of Westerners in Russian custody, including Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal; Paul Whelan, former US Marine; and Alsou Kurmasheva, editor working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
On Wednesday, a St. Petersburg court said it had sentenced Yuri Malev, a Russian-American citizen, to three and a half years in prison in a penal colony after posting memes and other posts critical of the country, its leadership and its war. in Ukraine. on social networks.
The detentions of Westerners in Russia in recent years have raised fears that the Kremlin is trying to use them as bargaining chips to exchange them for Russian individuals detained in the West.
Aurelien Breeden contributed with reports.