By ggablog 
French researcher Laurent Vinatier is fighting a three-year prison sentence handed down by a Russian court for allegedly collecting military information and breaching Moscow’s “foreign agent” law. This law has been widely criticized by Western nations for targeting their citizens on baseless charges to use them for prisoner swaps ¹ ² ³. Vinatier, who works for a Swiss conflict mediation NGO, is one of several Westerners arrested in Russia since the Ukraine conflict began in 2022.
Vinatier admitted guilt, saying he was unaware he needed to register as a “foreign agent,” a label mostly used against Kremlin critics ¹ ². French President Emmanuel Macron has demanded Vinatier’s release, citing rising tensions between Paris and Moscow over Ukraine ⁴. Western countries accuse Russia of arresting their citizens on baseless charges for prisoner swaps, with a major exchange occurring in August ¹ ²[4).