The Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow has sent Frenchman Laurent Vinatier to pretrial detention until August 5 in a case of collecting military data without registering as a "foreign agent" (Part 3 of Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the joint press service of Moscow courts.
Vinatier admitted his guilt, writes "Beware, News". "I have no intention of obstructing the investigation. Yesterday we had a wonderful conversation with the investigator, I think that for me it was proof of good intentions. <…> What happened is not a measure against me, but against the organization. I admitted my guilt," the man said at the hearing.
According to security forces, the detainee repeatedly visited Russia and met with local residents to collect military information that could be used against the country's security.
The Investigative Committee reported the detention of a French citizen and published a video of him on June 6. Pro-Kremlin REN TV, citing a source, also wrote that the detainee's name was Laurent Vinatier. Later, the media noted that he is a full namesake, an adviser to the Geneva Center for Humanitarian Dialogue on organizational activities in Ukraine. The political scientist specializes in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan.
- The legislation on "foreign agents" is becoming stricter every year. On December 1, 2022, the Law "On Control over the Activities of Persons Under Foreign Influence" came into force, as well as numerous legislative amendments to the "foreign agent" regulation. You can read about who and on what grounds are recognized as "foreign agents", what restrictions these people and organizations face, as well as what risks those who interact with them bear in our report .
- In December 2022, Vladimir Putin also signed a law on imprisonment for up to five years for "foreign agents" who were held accountable twice in one year for violating the procedure for the activities of a "foreign agent" (Article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). The total amount of fines imposed in 2022 and 2023 by Roskomnadzor on registry participants due to the lack of appropriate marking exceeded 1 billion 17 million rubles. In February 2023, a criminal case for evading the duties of a "foreign agent" (Part 2 of Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code) was opened against Artem Vazhenkov, coordinator of the Golos movement from Tver. In 2024, this article was also charged to the editor-in-chief of the publication "Pskovskaya Guberniya" Denis Kamalyagin , the former coordinator of the Pskov "Voice" Vladimir Zhilinsky and the former coordinator of the Kuzbass "Voice" Sergei Piskunov .
- In the fall of 2021, OVD-Info launched the Inoteka project. We study the practice of applying laws on "foreign agents", talk about their impact on civil society and specific people, initiate discussions with experts and propose ways of possible changes. In December 2021, together with the Center for the Protection of Media Rights, we began providing legal support to people and organizations that ended up on the registers of "foreign agents".
- As of January 18, 2024, there are 756 "foreign agents" in the register, including individuals and organizations. Starting in 2022, the list will be expanded more actively: in 2021, 110 individuals and projects became "foreign agents", in 2022 - 188, and in 2023 - already 227. If earlier the instrument of recognition as a "foreign agent" was primarily aimed at journalists, media and human rights activists, now this status has been extended to representatives of other spheres. The list of reasons for inclusion in the register has also expanded : the Ministry of Justice officially admits that it uses the law to persecute people who speak out against the war. As of January 11, 2024, at least 199 "foreign agents" have been excluded from the registers - however, their personal data will remain on the list even after exclusion.