Frenchman Laurent Vinatier pleads guilty to failing to register as a foreign agent

Frenchman Laurent Vinatier, detained in Russia, formally pleaded guilty on Monday, September 16, before a Moscow court. Russian authorities accuse him of having failed to comply with his obligation to register as a“foreign agent” even as he collected “information in the field of military activities” can be “used against security” from Russia.

He risks five years in prison in theory, in a diplomatic context that weighs on this case, like all legal cases that concern Westerners in Russia. If some choose to contest en bloc, this Frenchman, a specialist in parallel diplomacy and employee of a Swiss NGO, has chosen to try to cooperate. His trial will resume on October 14.

When you are a Westerner and you find yourself confronted with Russian justice, there are two strategies. The first is to contest everything, turn your trial into a political platform and hope for a diplomatic solution in the form of a prisoner exchange. The second is to keep a low profile, admit everything and hope for some leniency from Russian justice. This is the path chosen by the Frenchman Laurent Vinatier.

On Monday, before the judge, he pleaded guilty. Guilty of not having registered in the register of foreign agents. “because I didn’t know I had to do it”, he tried. “No, you must acknowledge your full responsibility”the judge replied. Which is what he did: the Frenchman, who has forbidden his lawyers and relatives from speaking to the media, hopes to get a lighter sentence than the five years in prison he faces. He is the first foreigner to be charged on such charges in Russia. His guilty plea could reduce the maximum sentence he faces by two-thirds, or just over three years in prison. That is still a lot, but his lawyers hope to get a little better. In the current Russian context, that would be a real victory.