A Moscow court has ordered a French national accused of collecting information on Russia's military affairs to be detained pending an investigation and trial.
Laurent Vinatier was arrested in the Russian capital on Thursday amid rising tensions between Moscow and Paris following comments by French President Emmanuel Macron about the possible deployment of French troops to Ukraine.
Authorities accused Vinatier of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information about Russia's “military and military-technical activities” that could undermine the country's national security.
Authorities have not provided details of the charges against Vinatier beyond alleging that he made multiple trips to Russia to gather this information, a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison under Russian law.
Vinatier appeared in court on Friday, and Russian state news agency TASS reported that his lawyer said he had admitted his guilt in court and claimed he simply was unaware of the requirements.
Vinatier reportedly apologized to the court.
The judge ordered the man held in pretrial custody until August 5th.
Vinatier is an adviser to the Geneva-based non-governmental organization, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.
The Geneva-based NGO said late on Friday it was doing “all we can to support our colleague Laurent,” including securing legal representation for him and contacting Russian authorities.
“As the case progresses, we continue to seek information regarding the circumstances that led to his arrest and the charges against him,” the statement said.
The charges against Vinatier stem from a recently enacted law that requires anyone collecting information on military matters to register with authorities as a foreign agent.
Human rights activists have criticized the law and other recently adopted legislation as part of the Kremlin's multi-pronged crackdown on independent media and political activists aimed at silencing criticism of its actions in Ukraine.
Arrests on suspicion of espionage and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia since it sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022.
Recent notable arrests include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges, and American-Russian journalist Ars Kurmasheva, who was detained in October 2023 on the same charges as Vinatier.
