French researcher freed from Russia in prisoner exchange

Russia is freeing French researcher Laurent Vinatier in a prisoner swap deal after he spent more than a year in prison for failing to register as a "foreign agent".

Vinatier's release is in exchange for Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who has been imprisoned in France since last June at the request of the US over a hacking charge.

The release of Vinatier, 49, and Kasatkin, 26, follows recent prisoner swaps between Russia and the West. August 2024 saw the largest exchange since the Cold War era, with 24 people freed.

Russia's state-owned news agency RIA reports that Vinatier had been pardoned by President Vladimir Putin.

Tensions between Moscow and the West have been high in recent years, especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

But two weeks ago, the Kremlin said Russia was in contact with France over Vinatier, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Moscow had made an unspecified "offer" to Paris, and that the ball was in France's court.

Vinatier was reunited with his parents and received by France's top diplomat Jean-Noel Barrot at the French foreign ministry after arriving in Paris.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that "our compatriot" was back in France, adding: "I share the relief felt by his family and loved ones."

Vinatier, who worked for a Switzerland-based conflict mediation non-profit, was arrested while gathering what prosecutors alleged was information on Russia's military.

Russia requires anyone who receives foreign support or is under influence from abroad to declare themselves as a foreign agent.

During his court hearing, Vinatier apologised and pleaded guilty, saying he was unaware he should have registered. The then-48-year-old was sentenced to three years in prison.

France described the ruling as "extremely harsh" and called for Vinatier's immediate release.

Meanwhile, US authorities believed Kasatkin negotiated payoffs for a ransomware ring that hacked about 900 companies. The basketball player denied the accusations.

Russia has in the past used foreign nationals detained in the country as bargaining chips to secure the release of its nationals arrested abroad.

During August 2024's mass prisoner swap, Russia freed US reporter Evan Gershkovich, ex-US Marine Paul Whelan and more than a dozen others in exchange for several Russian spies detained across the West.