Russia frees French political scholar in a prisoner swap for a basketball player

By Canadian Press on January 8, 2026.

Laurent Vinatier, a French political scholar serving a three-year sentence in Russia and facing new charges of espionage, has been freed in a prisoner swap with France, a Russian security agency said Thursday.

In exchange, Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, jailed in France at the request of the United States, was released, Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, said in a statement carried by Russian state news agencies.

Vinatier was arrested in Moscow in June 2024. Russian authorities accused him 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 national security. A court convicted him and sentenced him to a three-year prison term.

In August, Russian state news agency Tass reported that Vinatier was also charged with espionage, citing court records, but giving no details. Those convicted of espionage in Russia face between 10 and 20 years in prison.

The Associated Press

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