A French researcher who is serving three years in a Russian prison is now being investigated for espionage, according to a court filing seen by Agence France-Presse on Wednesday, August 20. Documents showed that Laurent Vinatier is facing a new court hearing on August 25 on espionage charges, which carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Vinatier, who worked for a Swiss conflict mediation organization, is one of a number of Westerners who have been arrested in Russia since diplomatic tensions soared over Ukraine. The French government has demanded that Moscow release him and accused Russia of taking Westerners hostage.
He was found guilty in October last year of gathering information on the Russian military and of violating its "foreign agent" law, as he did not register as one. The "foreign agent" law has been widely used against domestic Kremlin critics.
Vinatier worked as an adviser with the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and is a veteran researcher on Russia and other post-Soviet countries. He said in court that in his work he always tried to "present Russia's interests in international relations".