- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
- England strike twice as Pakistan reach 397-6 at lunch in first Test
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Kenya's deputy president faces impeachment vote
- N. Korean soldiers 'highly likely' killed in Ukraine: Seoul
- 'Appeals Centre' to referee EU social media disputes
- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- At Istanbul church, blessed spring offers hope to Christians and Muslims
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- Myanmar to send rep to regional summit for first time in three years
- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 60.52 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ |
Russia orders Frenchman held in 'foreign agent' case
A Moscow court on Friday ordered a French citizen accused of gathering Russian military information to be held in pre-trial detention, in the latest case of a Western citizen being detained in Russia.
Laurent Vinatier, a 47-year-old who works for a Swiss conflict mediation NGO, was arrested on Thursday and officially charged with breaching Russia's "foreign agents" law, charges which carry up to five years in jail.
Vinatier, who was held in a metal cage at the back of the courtroom, accepted the accusations against him.
"I have accepted that I am guilty," he told the court. "I present my apologies."
The court session was a hearing on selecting a measure of restraint, not a review of the case against him.
The judge ordered Vinatier sent to jail until at least August 5, pending trial.
Investigators accuse the Frenchman of gathering military information that could be used against Russia by foreign states.
Under Russian law, people who collect, report or share information related to Russia's military or security services are required to register as "foreign agents".
Vinatier is an advisor with the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and a veteran researcher on Russia and other post-Soviet countries.
The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue "works to prevent and resolve armed conflicts around the world through mediation and discreet diplomacy," according to a statement on its website.
After his arrest on Thursday, it said it was working "to secure Laurent's release."
- 'Against the organisation' -
Appearing in court in a dark shirt and jeans on Friday, Vinatier spoke Russian and French during the hearing.
"What happened is not against me, it's against the organisation as a whole," he said.
The Swiss foreign ministry said the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue was an NGO that was "funded by several states."
Switzerland said it "does not finance its activities in connection with Russia."
Vinatier's lawyers had argued for him to be placed under house arrest and said he could stay at his wife's apartment in Moscow.
"I have no intention of obstructing the investigation. Yesterday I had a great conversation with the investigators, proof of my good intentions," Vinatier said when questioned in court.
He faces up to five years in prison if convicted, although Russia has previously used "foreign agent" charges as a pretext to arrest people before levelling more serious charges.
The law has typically been used to target Russian citizens and domestic critics of the Kremlin, such as activists, campaigners and independent journalists, rather than foreign citizens.
US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was arrested on a similar charge last year, before a more serious case of spreading "false information" about the army was levelled against her.
On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was aware of Vinatier's arrest and added that he had no connections with the French government.
"It is one of our citizens working for a Swiss NGO... it was in no way someone who was working for France," Macron told French television in an interview Thursday.
In Russia, suspects can spend months on pre-trial detention pending a trial, with the period in jail regularly extended by a few months in court hearings.
- Westerners arrested in Russia -
Russia has also arrested several Western citizens in recent years, drawing accusations that Moscow is holding them to trade in prisoner exchanges for Russians jailed abroad.
US journalist Evan Gershkovich was arrested on "espionage" charges last year and former US marine Paul Whelan has been in prison for more than five years, also accused of spying.
Both reject the charges and have been designated "wrongfully detained" by the White House.
US basketball player Brittney Griner was freed in a prisoner exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in 2022 after she was arrested at a Moscow airport with medicinal cannabis oil.
Vinatier's arrest came days after France's domestic intelligence agency the DGSI detained a 26-year-old Russian-Ukrainian man on suspicion of planning a violent act after he injured himself in an explosion.
A.Mahlangu--AMWN