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French citizen convicted in Russia of collecting military information and gets 3 years in prison

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French citizen convicted in Russia of collecting military information and gets 3 years in prison
News

News

French citizen convicted in Russia of collecting military information and gets 3 years in prison

2024-10-14 22:30 Last Updated At:22:40

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court on Monday convicted a French citizen of collecting military information and sentenced him to three years in prison.

Laurent Vinatier, who was arrested in Moscow in June, earlier admitted guilt, setting the stage for a fast-tracked trial. His lawyers’ asked the court to sentence him to a fine.

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French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a courtroom at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a courtroom at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier stands in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier stands in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a court room at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a court room at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a court room at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a court room at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

In his remarks before the verdict, Vinatier, speaking Russian, reaffirmed that he fully recognized his guilt and asked the judge for clemency. “I'm asking the Russian Federation to forgive me for failing to observe Russian laws,” he said.

The 48-year-old political scholar said he fell in love with Russia 20 years ago when he began studying the country and concluded his comments with a verse by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin about having patience that better days lie ahead.

Detentions on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia and its heavily politicized legal system since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Vinatier’s arrest came as tensions flared between Moscow and Paris following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine.

Russian authorities accused Vinatier of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information about Russia’s “military and military-technical activities” that could be used to the detriment of the country’s security.

Vinatier is an adviser for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Switzerland-based nongovernmental organization. It said in June that it was doing “everything possible to assist” him.

The prosecutors charged that Vinatier had collected military information during his meetings with three Russian citizens in Moscow in 2021-22. The Russian citizens weren’t named in the indictment.

The charges carried a prison sentence of up to five years, but the prosecutors asked for 3 1/4 years in prison, given that he had fully admitted his guilt and cooperated with investigators.

Still, Vinatier’s lawyers argued the sentence sought by prosecutors was too harsh and asked the judge to sentence him to a fine. They pointed at his career as a political scholar who focused on studying Russia and emphasized that his books and articles have been friendly to the country.

While asking the judge for clemency, Vinatier pointed at his two children and his elderly parents he has to take care of.

The charges against Vinatier relate to a law that requires anyone collecting information on military issues to register with authorities as a foreign agent.

Human rights activists have criticized the law and other recent legislation as part of a Kremlin crackdown on independent media and political activists intended to stifle criticism of its actions in Ukraine.

French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a courtroom at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a courtroom at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier stands in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier stands in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a court room at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a court room at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a court room at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

French citizen Laurent Vinatier is escorted to a court room at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

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Nearly 200 families separated by US-Mexico border reunite briefly in annual event

2024-11-03 07:57 Last Updated At:08:00

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — Nearly 200 families gathered Saturday along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border for heartfelt but brief reunions with loved ones they had not seen for years because they live in opposite countries.

Tears flowed and people embraced as Mexican families were allowed to reunite for a few minutes at the border with relatives who migrated to the U.S. Adults and children passed over the Rio Grande to meet with their loved ones.

This year, the annual event organized by an immigrant rights advocacy group happened three days before the U.S. presidential election, whose monthslong campaigns have focused heavily on immigration and border security. It also took place under increased security, according to the Network in Defense of the Rights of Migrants.

“We did not have barbed wire, we did not have so many soldiers deployed in our community,” said Fernando García, the organization’s director, highlighting the border security changes that the border has seen since the reunions began last decade. “The barbed wire had to be opened so that the families could have this event.”

García said he expects migration into the U.S. to continue regardless of who wins Tuesday’s election. Family reunions, he said, will continue, too.

“Deportation policy, border policy, immigration policy, is separating families in an extraordinary way and is deeply impacting these families,” he told reporters ahead of the event.

People living in Mexico meet with relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

People living in Mexico meet with relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

People living in Mexico meet with relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

People living in Mexico meet with relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

People living in Mexico embrace relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

People living in Mexico embrace relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

People living in Mexico meet with relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

People living in Mexico meet with relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

People living in Mexico meet with relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

People living in Mexico meet with relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

A person living in Mexico and a relative living in the U.S., embrace during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

A person living in Mexico and a relative living in the U.S., embrace during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

People living in Mexico meet with relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

People living in Mexico meet with relatives living in the U.S., during the annual "Hugs not Walls" event on a stretch of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

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