French NGO worker arrested in Russia faces jailing

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) -- Russian prosecutors on Friday requested that a French man effectively accused of spying be sent to jail pending trial for breaching the country’s “foreign agents” law, his lawyer told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Laurent Vinatier, a French national who works with a Swiss-based conflict mediation non-profit organization, was arrested Thursday in Moscow and faces up to five years in jail.

He has been charged with breaching Russia’s “foreign agents” law, but in a statement investigators accused him of gathering military information that could be used against Russia by foreign states.

“The Investigative Committee is now filing an application with the court office” requesting Vinatier be held in jail pending trial, his lawyer Alexei Sinitsin told AFP.

The Moscow branch of the Investigative Committee said a court hearing would be held on Friday where a judge would decide on a “preventative measure” for Vinatier before he goes on trial.

Russian state media quoted Sinitsin as saying he would argue against sending Vinatier to pre-trial detention.

Sinitsin said his client had a “permanent place of residence” in Moscow and was not a flight risk, the RIA Novosti agency reported.

Vinatier is an advisor with the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

“We are working to get more details of the circumstances and to secure Laurent’s release,” it said in emailed statement on Thursday.