MOSCOW. Sept 3 (Interfax) - Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky District Court has extended the arrest of French citizen Laurent Vinatier, who is charged with gathering information about Russian military activity as a foreign agent, by six months, an Interfax correspondent reported.
"Vinatier's arrest is to be extended by six months, i.e. until February 21, 2025," Judge Natalia Cheprasova said.
The court thus upheld a public prosecutor's motion for keeping Vinatier under arrest for the trial period.
The court held the first hearing on the Vinatier case on Tuesday. It has not begun a court investigation, as Vinatier was not informed about the hearing time and date at the pretrial detention facility, which he and his lawyers pointed out. The court delayed the proceeding until September 16.
Vinatier, who is designated a foreign agent in Russia, was detained in early June 2024 and charged with evading the duties of a foreign agent envisaged by Russian laws.
The Russian Investigative Committee said that Vinatier, "having the intent to disregard the Russian statutory obligation to provide an authorized body with documentation required for his inclusion in the register of foreign agents," was engaged for several years in deliberately gathering information on Russian military and military-technical activities.
"That information, once received by foreign sources, can be used against the security of the [Russian] state," the committee said.
Vinatier made a number of visits to Russia, including Moscow, for personal reasons, to meet with Russian citizens, including experts, scientists, political analysts, sociologists, economists and military experts, as well as officials, the public relations center of the Russian Federal Security Service said.
Vinatier pleaded guilty. As he is charged with an offense of medium severity, the court may hear the case in a special proceeding, without examining evidence. In order to do so, the court will need to uphold a corresponding application of the defense.
Vinatier, 48, is a consultant of the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Swiss NGO, whose role, according to a presentation on its website, is "to prevent and resolve armed conflicts around the world through mediation and discreet diplomacy."