A French academic jailed in Russia is back home after a prisoner exchange that sent a Russian basketball player wanted by the US back to Moscow. French President Emmanuel Macron said researcher Laurent Vinatier, 49, returned to France after being pardoned by Vladimir Putin and exchanged for Russian athlete Daniil Kasatkin, Reuters reports. Vinatier had been serving a three-year sentence for failing to register under Russia's "foreign agent" law, and was also under a separate espionage probe. Paris had called his detention arbitrary and denied he had any link to French intelligence.
Russia's FSB security service said Vinatier was traded for Kasatkin, who was arrested at a Paris airport in June 2024 on a US warrant alleging involvement in ransomware attacks. Kasatkin has denied the accusations, and his lawyer has argued he lacked technical skills and had unknowingly used a device controlled by cybercriminals. The same lawyer, Frederic Belot, represents both men. Kasatkin flew out of France and landed in Moscow on Thursday.
The FSB accused Vinatier of gathering sensitive political and military information at the behest of Swiss intelligence, including details on combat and training plans, but said the case was dropped due to his "active repentance." At the time of his arrest in Moscow, Vinatier was working for the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and colleagues described his work as legitimate academic research. At his trial, he apologized, professed admiration for Russia, and even quoted Pushkin.
French President Emmanuel Macron thanked French diplomats for securing Vinatier's release and said he shared the relief of the researcher's family. The AP reports that Putin promised to look into Vinatier's case after a question from a French journalist during his year-end news conference. Putin told the reporter he didn't know anything about it. Days later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had made an offer to France.
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