A French researcher who was sentenced by Russia to three years in prison, in a case condemned by Paris, has been transferred to a transit penal colony.
Laurent Vinatier is one of several westerners jailed by Moscow since it began its Ukraine offensive. He was sentenced in October after being found guilty of violating Russia’s “foreign agent” law.
Vinatier, who works for a Swiss conflict-mediation NGO, was arrested last summer as tensions with France and other western countries soared over Ukraine.
According to a message from his family to AFP, Vinatier’s lawyer informed them that he was transferred from Moscow to Tula – about 120 miles (190km) south of the capital – to a transit penal colony.
He is to spend 15 days of quarantine in the prison. His family do not know where he will be transferred after that. Prisoner transfers in Russia’s huge penitentiary system can take weeks.
Vinatier, who speaks Russian, is a veteran researcher on Russia and post-Soviet countries.
As he lost his appeal in February, he said in court that his work always tried to “present Russia’s interests in international relations”.
France has demanded Vinatier’s release, condemning the sentence as “arbitrary”. President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly calling on Russia to free him.
