Collaborator of a Swiss NGO, this researcher was arrested Thursday for violation of a Russian law on “foreign agents”. Emmanuel Macron assured that “under no circumstances” was he “someone who worked for France”.
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Of the “threat” made to France, but also “a sign of feverishness” from Russia. It is in these terms that Emmanuel Macron spoke of the announcement made by the Russian authorities, Thursday June 6, of the arrest of a French national in Moscow. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, Laurent Vinatier, collaborator of a Swiss NGO, is suspected of having collected military information and of having violated the Russian law on foreign agents. Here is what we know about his arrest, which takes place in a particularly tense context between Paris and Moscow against a backdrop of French military support for Ukraine.
Criminal proceedings for violation of a law on foreign agents
Russian authorities broadcast the video of the arrest of a Frenchman in a Moscow restaurant on Thursday on Telegram. The man’s face is blurred. In its press release, the Russian investigative committee announced that it had “opened criminal proceedings”without revealing the identity of the accused. “SAccording to investigators, for several years the accused (…) carried out targeted collection of information in the field of military and military-technical activities of the Russian Federation”. The data collected “could be used against the security of the State”.
This operation is justified by Article 330.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, according to the message posted by the investigative committee. Moscow demands that anyone benefiting from foreign support or under foreign influence declare themselves to the authorities as“foreign agent”. This law even affects those who collect unclassified information on military matters. Any violation is punishable by up to five years in prison. In October 2023, Russian-American reporter Alsu Kurmasheva was charged under this same article.
“In the near future, [Laurent Vinatier] will be charged and a preventive measure will be chosen”, write the Russian authorities on Telegram. “The investigative committee is currently filing a request with the court registry to request the detention of Laurent Vinatier”, confirmed his lawyer, Alexei Sinitsyn, to AFP on Friday morning. Christophe Lemoine, spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told AFP that Paris had “required information from the investigative committee [russe] on the reason for the arrest of our compatriot”.
A researcher specializing in the former USSR
The identity of the arrested man was publicly revealed a few hours later, notably by the Russian state news agency Tass. Laurent Vinatier, a 48-year-old French researcher, is a specialist in post-Soviet areas. His LinkedIn account specifies that he studied the conflict in Chechnya as part of a doctorate in 2008. It also states that Laurent Vinatier currently serves as an advisor for the Swiss NGO Center for Humanitarian Dialogue and focuses on “Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan”. Contacted by Le Figarothe Geneva-based mediation organization responded: “We are working to obtain more details on the circumstances [de l’arrestation] and to obtain the release of Laurent.”
A renowned Russian economic expert, cited by The echoes under condition of anonymity, reports that Laurent Vinatier was in St. Petersburg on Tuesday. “As always with Laurent, we talked about humanitarian subjects. Nothing political. Nothing military. Then he left for Moscow.”he confided. For Sylvain Tronchet, the video of the arrest broadcast on the networks is not insignificant: “The staging of his arrest is not a good sign.”
The man “did not work for France”, according to Emmanuel Macron
The President of the Republic confirmed the man’s arrest on France 2 (at 28 minutes on the video). “He This is one of our compatriots who works for a Swiss NGO (…) which does diplomacy and discussion work.”, he clarified. The head of state affirmed that the accused was employed by this NGO “which serves many major international figures. In the program “C dans l’air” broadcast Thursday on France 5, the Radio France correspondent in Moscow, Sylvain Tronchet, specified that Laurent Vinatier “is not unknown, neither to the French community, nor to the Russian authorities.”
Emmanuel Macron assured that“ein no case” Laurent Vinatier “wasn’t someone who worked for France”. “He will receive all the consular protection that is appropriate in such a case. But I wanted to reestablish the truth here in the face of the poisonings that we are hearing”insisted the head of state.
A context of growing tensions between Paris and Moscow
This arrest comes as Franco-Russian relations continue to deteriorate, with Moscow reproaching Paris, like other Western capitals, for its military support for kyiv, threatening reprisals each time a new step is taken in aid to the Ukrainian army.
A few hours after this arrest, Emmanuel Macron also announced the strengthening of aid to Ukraine with “the transfer of Mirage 2000-5” and the training of Ukrainian soldiers in France. On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the announcements“extremely provocative”, seeing it as a sign that “the French Republic is ready to participate directly in the conflict.”
The French authorities also suspect Russia of being behind the interference attempts that have occurred in recent weeks. “We saw these red hands on the Shoah Memorial, we saw these Stars of David tagged on walls. We recently saw the coffins which were placed under the Eiffel Tower”, listed Gabriel Attal on France 2, Thursday. The head of government sees “a poison that seeks to manipulate opinion” and who can be “our new world war”.
On Tuesday, a 26-year-old man of Russian-Ukrainian nationality was taken into police custody after being seriously burned while making a homemade explosive device in his hotel room, near Roissy airport. A source close to the matter told franceinfo that he had “possibly been enlisted in the Russian army”. The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office took charge.