French researcher Laurent Vinatier, detained in Russia for a year and a half, could face a new trial in February, this time for espionage, according to a statement from his French lawyer on Tuesday. A hearing on this matter was held on November 21, said Mr Frédéric Bélot.
The investigation targeting Laurent Vinatier for espionage is “extended, with conclusions submitted at the end of January and will no doubt be tried on February 28,” he said, as also mentioned by Intelligence Online.
The 49-year-old specialist in the post-Soviet space has been imprisoned in Russia since June 2024. He was sentenced to three years in prison in October 2024 for not registering as a “foreign agent”, a label used by Russian authorities to repress his critics.
Since late August, he has been the target of new espionage charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
“We are paying close attention to the ongoing criminal proceedings. We hope that the defense’s arguments will be heard and we count on the support of French diplomacy, which is very important for Laurent and his family,” stressed Me Bélot. The lawyer clarified that Laurent Vinatier is “fine”.
A “pawn” used by Russia
The researcher was employed on Russian soil by a Swiss NGO that mediates conflicts outside official diplomatic channels, particularly regarding Ukraine.
In late August, Brigitte and Alain Vinatier stated in an interview with AFP that their son was a “political prisoner”, a “pawn” used by Russia to “pressure”.
At the end of the hearing in late August, Laurent Vinatier stated that he was “tired” and answered “yes” when a journalist asked if he considered himself a “hostage” of Russian power.
In recent months, Paris has demanded his release from Moscow, accusing Russia of trying to hold Westerners hostage, while relations between the two countries are at their lowest point since Russia’s attack on Ukraine launched in February 2022 and the sanctions that followed. France has been criticized by Moscow for its military support of Kyiv or for censoring Russian media.
“If there are still 20 years left, we will definitely die”
Laurent Vinatier’s parents explained in August that they were distressed by the “psychological pressure” their son was suffering and the prospect of a long detention. “If he is held for 20 years, we will definitely die” when he is released, his mother said, adding that he was recently transferred to Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, which is known as a prison that holds prisoners targeted in cases with political resonance.
Some fifty figures, including writers Emmanuel Carrère and Annie Ernaux and former prisoner in Iran Clotilde Reiss, called on France to seek his release in a column published by Le Monde, stressing that he was “a prisoner of a political and diplomatic game that is beyond him.”
