Sawt Falasteen - Russia orders French researcher kept in jail as trial starts

Laurent Vinatier, who worked for a Swiss conflict mediation NGO before he was arrested in Moscow in June, is one of several Western citizens who have been held in Russian prisons in recent years on charges that the West says are baseless.

At the opening of the trial in Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky court on Tuesday, the judge ruled to extend Vinatier's detention until 21 February 2025.

The judge also set the next hearing in the case for 16 September, AFP journalists reported from the courtroom, granting Vinatier's request for more time to prepare.

Vinatier was held in a metal cage for defendants during the proceedings.

Wearing a blue shirt and dark trousers, he smiled as he spoke with his lawyers ahead of the start of the trial.

The 48-year-old faces a five-year prison sentence if convicted.

France has urged Russia to release Vinatier, saying he has been "arbitrarily detained".

Russian authorities say he was collecting information on Russia's military without being registered as a "foreign agent", as required by law.

The law has more often been used to target Russians and domestic critics of the Kremlin, rather than foreign citizens.

- High tensions -

Russian investigators also say Vinatier collected military information that could be used against Moscow by foreign states -- raising fears he could face further charges later.

Russia has previously used "foreign agent" charges to arrest people before levelling more serious accusations at them.

Tensions between Moscow and Paris are running high after France charged Russian-born Telegram founder Pavel Durov last week over illegal content on the popular social media platform, with the Kremlin warning Paris not to turn Durov's case into "political persecution".

In previous court hearings Vinatier has acknowledged violating the Russian law and apologised, explaining that he was unaware he should have registered as a "foreign agent"

Vinatier is an adviser with the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and a researcher on Russia and other post-Soviet countries.

The centre "works to prevent and resolve armed conflicts around the world through mediation and discreet diplomacy", it says in a statement on its website.

According to sources interviewed by AFP, the Frenchman had been working for years on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, before Russia launched its full-scale offensive in February 2022.

Humanitarian Dialogue said in June that it was doing "everything possible to help" Vinatier, who "lives in Switzerland and travels regularly for his work".

- 'Love Russia' -

Married and the father of four children, he has been in pre-trial detention since his arrest, with his repeated requests to be placed under house arrest rejected.

"I always wanted to adequately present the interest and position of Russia on international relations in my work," he said at a hearing in early July.

"I love Russia, my wife is Russian, my life is linked with Russia," he told the court.

In recent years, several Westerners, particularly Americans, have been arrested in Russia and charged with serious offences.

Washington has accused Moscow of arresting US citizens on baseless charges to use them as bargaining chips to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad.

On August 1, Russia freed US reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and more than a dozen others -- including Russian opposition politicians -- in its biggest prisoner swap with the West since the Cold War.

I.Matar--SF-PST