Here we go again.

My first thought — upon reading that French researcher Laurent Vinatier had been found guilty of failure to register as a “foreign agent” in Russia and sentenced to three years in prison — was that he might have been taken as bait for a possible swap with French authorities for Telegram messaging service’s billionaire CEO, Russian-born Pavel Durov. But Vinatier was first detained in June of this year, while Durov wasn’t arrested in France until August. So I was mistaken . . . but it was a plausible scenario. And who knows what the future might bring?

In the meantime, Laurent Vinatier stands convicted of “collecting military information of value to foreign intelligence services.” [Reuters, October 14, 2024.] And he admitted to having researched military-related information . . . but not for the purpose of intelligence-gathering. However, under Russian law, people are required to register as foreign agents if they are involved in political activity or collection of military information while receiving financial or other help from abroad. [Id.]

Vinatier is an employee of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), a Swiss-based conflict mediation organization, and is said by fellow academics to be a respected scholar involved in legitimate research. In a statement following Vinatier’s arrest, HD said that its staff work globally and “routinely meet with a wide range of officials, experts and other parties with the aim of advancing efforts to prevent, mitigate and resolve armed conflict.” [Id.]

The French Foreign Ministry has said that Vinatier is being arbitrarily detained, and has called for his immediate release:

“The legislation on ‘foreign agents’ contributes to a systematic violation of fundamental freedoms in Russia, such as freedom of association, freedom of opinion and freedom of expression. French authorities remain fully mobilized to provide assistance [to Vinatier].” [Id.]

Speaking in his own defense, Vinatier asked for a “fair and lenient” decision, saying that he has children and elderly parents dependent on him. He added:

“I am not afraid to say that I fell in love with Russia. This is confirmed by my personal life — my wife is Russian, my friends are Russian. I lived a Russian life and still, even the last four months [while in detention], I have been living in a Russian atmosphere.” [Id.]

The “fair and lenient” decision of the Russian court was a three-year prison sentence.

And so M. Vinatier joins our list of Putin’s hostages, being held in Russian prisons on fabricated charges for purely political reasons . . . yet another example of Russian justice.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/16/24