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Moscow court arrests French citizen Vinatier for violating rules of foreign agent activity

Under the article Laurent Vinatier is accused of, the maximum penalty is up to five years in prison
Laurent Vinatier Vladimir Gerdo/TASS
Laurent Vinatier
© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

MOSCOW, June 7. /TASS/. Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky court has arrested French citizen Laurent Vinatier, who is accused of violating the rules of foreign agents' activity, a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.

"The court granted the request of the investigation and ruled to keep Vinatier in custody until August 5," the judge read the decision.

Vinatier has pleaded guilty. He is accused of a crime under Part 3 of Article 330.1 of the Russian Criminal Code. The maximum penalty under this article is up to five years in prison. The French citizen works as a consultant for the Swiss Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD).

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.