A court in Moscow ordered the detention of French citizen Laurent Vinatier, an adviser to a foreign organization, on suspicion of collecting military information.
Vinatier was arrested in Moscow on Thursday, and authorities accused him of failing to register as a "foreign agent" while gathering information about Russia's "military-technical activities" that could be used to harm its security.
Authorities did not provide details of the charges other than allegations that Vinatier made multiple trips to Russia to gather information. Under Russian law, it is a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison.
Vinatijer pleaded guilty in court today and claimed that he did not know about that law. A report by Russian news agency TASS also said that Vinatier apologized to the court.
The judge ordered him to be remanded in custody until August 5.
Vinatijer is an adviser to the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based non-governmental organization, and the charges against him stem from a recently passed law that requires anyone gathering information on military matters to register with authorities as a foreign agent.
Human rights activists have criticized the law and other laws passed recently as part of a broader Kremlin crackdown on independent media and political activists.
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