MOSCOW, June 7. /TASS/. French citizen Laurent Vinatier, accused of violating the rules of a foreign agent, has pleaded guilty to the crime, a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.

"The investigator's argument that Vinatier, being at large, would hinder the investigation, does not stand up to criticism. Vinatier has pleaded guilty, and it makes no sense for him to obstruct the investigation," his lawyer Alexey Sinitsyn said in court. According to him, the crime was committed only because Vinatier was not familiar with the Russian legislation and did not know about the necessity to inform the Russian authorities about the activities of foreign agents.

The man himself confirmed that he pleaded guilty. Vinatier asked the court not to send him to a detential center, but to place him under house arrest. He pointed out that he had two minor children, one of whom was disabled and in need of care.

Earlier it was reported that the Frenchman is on trial under the Russian Criminal Code Article 330.1, Part 3 (evasion of duties envisaged by the Russian legislation on foreign agents). He faces up to five years in prison.· Vinatier is an advisor to the Swiss Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD). The Frenchman has been working on Eurasian issues since the coup in Ukraine in February 2014. Before that, he worked on the conflict in Chechnya. Russia’s top state criminal investigation body said earlier that, for several years, the man, who failed to register himself as a foreign agent in compliance with Russian legislation, has been gathering information on Russia’s military and military-technical activities. The Investigative Committee pointed out that this information, if obtained from foreign sources, could be used against the security of the state.