Russia arrests French researcher suspected of collecting intelligence

Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) confirms 47-year-old Laurent Vinatier was detained in Moscow and says it is working to secure his relaase.

Russia has arrested a French citizen working for a Geneva-based conflict mediation organisation, accusing him of gathering information about the military and failing to register as a “foreign agent”.

Russia’s state Investigative Committee said the man was suspected over a period of several years of having “purposefully collected information in the field of military and military-technical activities of the Russian Federation”, which could be used against the security of the state.

The committee, which investigates major crimes, released a short video showing a man in jeans and a black T-shirt being approached by masked officers on the terrace of a central Moscow restaurant before being led into a police van.

While it did not identify the man and blurred his face in the video, the state-run TASS news agency identified him as Laurent Vinatier.

The nonprofit Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) said it was aware that Vinatier, 47, who worked for the group as an adviser on Russia and Eurasia, had been arrested and was trying to secure his release.