Putin's bargaining chip?

Frenchman must spend three years in a penal camp in Russia

Laurent Vinatier visibly marked at the trial

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

At the beginning of June, a political expert from France was arrested in Russia. He is accused of collecting Russian military information. He must now spend several years in prisons known for their appalling conditions.

Laurent Vinatier worked for the Humanitarian Dialogue Center (HD Centre) in Switzerland. The Geneva-based non-governmental organization was said to be independent and to hold talks with officials, experts and other parties around the world, for example with a view to resolving armed conflicts.

"I ask Russia for forgiveness"
The defendant Laurent Vinatier said that he had known Russia for 20 years and had fallen in love with the country. "I apologize to Russia for not respecting the laws of the Russian Federation," he said, according to a report by the Interfax news agency. According to the report, he had not registered as a "foreign agent". According to Russian criminal law, the accusations could result in up to five years in prison or forced labor.

Laurent Vinatier is brought to the courtroom in Moscow

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

(Bild: APA/AFP/Alexander NEMENOV)

The expert, who was born in France in 1976, is said to have admitted to the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB that he had collected information that could be used by foreign intelligence services and thus harm Moscow's security interests.

With the three-year prison sentence, the court fell slightly short of the request of the Russian public prosecutor's office, which had demanded three years and three months. The defense had asked the court for a more humane sentence and suggested a fine. The verdict is not yet final.

Foreigners live dangerously
By arresting foreigners, Russia exerts pressure on other states and repeatedly uses these individuals as bargaining chips for the possible exchange of prisoners. According to the Russian law on so-called foreign agents, organizations and individuals that are fully or partially financed from abroad must register. In the increasingly repressive atmosphere in Russia, the law is used to brand critics and restrict their contacts in the country.