According to the Investigative Committee, the arrested Frenchman deliberately did not comply with this regulation.
Radio Free Europe first reported that the arrested person was Laurent Vinatier, a scholar specializing in Russia and the former Soviet Union at the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Swiss non-profit organization working to prevent and resolve armed conflicts. did. “We are aware that Laurent Vinatier, an advisor to the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), has been detained in Russia,” HD said in a written response to POLITICO. “We are working to obtain more information about the situation and secure Laurent’s release.”
Video released by Russian state news agency TASS shows a man being escorted from a cafe terrace by law enforcement agents.
The French embassy in Moscow declined to comment or confirm the identity of the detainee. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had no comment on this at this stage.
The arrest comes just days after a Russian-Ukrainian citizen was detained in France. The 26-year-old man was detained on suspicion of “participation in a terrorist plot to prepare crimes against the people,” the French counter-terrorism prosecutor told POLITICO.
Police found products and materials for making explosive devices in his hotel room near Paris Roissy airport on Saturday, one of which exploded and left him with serious burns.
The arrest is the latest in a series of high-profile cases involving foreign nationals, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on espionage charges in Russia more than a year ago. The detentions also occurred on the same day that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in France to attend ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of his D-Day.
Pierre Emmanuel Ngendakumana contributed to this report..
