International

Russia arrests French researcher suspected of collecting intelligence

Published

4 months ago

June 7, 2024

Central Moscow

Russia arrests French researcher suspected of collecting intelligence

Russia has arrested a French citizen working for a Geneva-based conflict mediation organisation, accusing him of gathering information about the military and failing to register as a “foreign agent”.

Russia’s state Investigative Committee said the man was suspected over a period of several years of having “purposefully collected information in the field of military and military-technical activities of the Russian Federation”, which could be used against the security of the state.

The committee, which investigates major crimes, released a short video showing a man in jeans and a black T-shirt being approached by masked officers on the terrace of a central Moscow restaurant before being led into a police van.

While it did not identify the man and blurred his face in the video, the state-run TASS news agency identified him as Laurent Vinatier.

The nonprofit Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) said it was aware that Vinatier, 47, who worked for the group as an adviser on Russia and Eurasia, had been arrested and was trying to secure his release.

“We are working to get more details of the circumstances and to secure Laurent’s release,” the group said in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, denied Vinatier worked for the French state and said his arrest was part of a campaign of disinformation by Moscow.

Under Russian laws used to crack down on Kremlin critics, anybody who receives foreign support or who is under “foreign influence” must register as a “foreign agent“. HD was founded by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and works to address and mediate armed conflicts around the world.

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Arrests on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia since it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Evan Gershkovich, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal, was arrested last year on suspicion of trying to obtain military secrets and charged with espionage, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years, and is currently in custody awaiting trial. The United States has designated him “wrongfully detained” and is seeking his release.

Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was arrested last October and is awaiting trial on charges including failing to register as a “foreign agent”. She too is being held in custody pending trial.

According to Vinatier’s LinkedIn page, he has been an adviser to the Eurasia/Russia Programme at HD since March 2014.

He completed his PhD on the Chechen diaspora and has lectured on international relations and political economy at various universities in France and Europe, as well as writing several books and book chapters on Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Vinatier’s arrest was announced just as France hosted many Western leaders for events to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday. Russia was not invited as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.

It also comes amid strains in relations between Moscow and Paris after Macron talked about the conditions under which France might be prepared to deploy soldiers in Ukraine, and Kyiv said France had agreed to send military instructors to the country.

Moscow has warned that French soldiers would be legitimate targets for Russia if they were sent to Ukraine.

Russia arrests French researcher suspected of collecting intelligence

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

International

Ukraine bans Telegram for officials over security threats

Published

6 hours ago

September 20, 2024

Trends Admin

Ukraine bans Telegram for officials over security threats

Ukraine on Friday restricted the use of Telegram for its government, military and security officials, citing “threats” to national security on the app founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov.

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“The National Security and Defence Council decided to restrict the use of Telegram in government agencies, military formations and critical infrastructure facilities,” the council said in a statement on Facebook, saying it was a “matter of national security.”

Ukraine bans Telegram for officials over security threats

International

US officer arrested over killing of judge in court

Published

7 hours ago

September 20, 2024

Trends Admin

US officer arrested over killing of judge in court

A Kentucky sheriff has been arrested for fatally shooting a judge in his chambers, according to authorities.

District Judge Kevin Mullins was shot multiple times in the Letcher County Courthouse and died at the scene, according to Kentucky State Police.

Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines, 43, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder.

Police said the shooting occurred on Thursday following an argument inside the court, but they have yet to identify the motivation.

Mullins, 54, was shot numerous times on Thursday at 14:00 local time at the court in Whitesburg, Kentucky, a small rural community about 150 miles (240 kilometres) southeast of Lexington.

Kentucky State Police said that Sheriff Stines was arrested at the site without incident.

They did not reveal the nature of the debate prior to the shooting.

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According to the Mountain Eagle, Sheriff Stines entered the judge’s outer office and informed court officials that he needed to meet with Mullins alone.

The two went into the judge’s chambers, closing the door behind them.

The publication said that those outside heard gunshots. Sheriff Stines apparently went out with his hands raised and surrendered to police. He was handcuffed in the courthouse’s lobby.

Russell Coleman, the state attorney general, stated in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that his office “will fully investigate and pursue justice.”

Kentucky State Police spokesperson Matt Gayheart said at a news conference that the town was startled by the incident.

“This community is small in nature, and we’re all shook,” he told me.

Mr. Gayheart stated that 50 personnel were inside the courthouse when the shooting occurred. Nobody else was wounded.

A school in the region was momentarily put under lockdown. Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter was “shocked by this act of violence.”

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced Judge Mullins’ death on social media, writing, “There is far too much violence in this world, and I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow.”

US officer arrested over killing of judge in court

International

Trans woman killed in Georgia day after anti-LGBT law passed

Published

14 hours ago

September 20, 2024

Trends Admin

Model and influencer Kesaria Abramidze had been seen as a trans leader in the Georgian community

Trans woman killed in Georgia day after anti-LGBT law passed

One of Georgia’s most well-known transgender women has been killed in her home, a day after the country’s parliament passed a major anti-LGBT bill.

Local officials say Kesaria Abramidze, 37, was stabbed to death in her flat in the capital Tbilisi on Wednesday.

A 26-year-old man has been arrested in the case that has shocked the small South Caucasian nation. Georgian media reported he was known to the victim.

Rights groups have linked the killing to the new anti-LGBT law, arguing the government’s promotion of it had fuelled transphobic hate crime.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who opposed the new law, said the “horrendous murder” raised urgent questions about hate crimes and discrimination.

The legislation from Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s government severely restricts rights for LGBT people.

It introduces a ban on same-sex marriage, gender-affirming surgeries, child adoption by non-heterosexuals and the promotion of same-sex relationships in schools.

The bill sailed through parliament on Tuesday in an 84-0 vote, despite criticism from rights groups.

The ruling party said the “Protection of Family Values and Minors” bill was designed to protect a majority of Georgians seeking protection from “LGBT propaganda”.

But local LGBT rights campaigners said the government had used homophobic and transphobic language and ideas in promoting the bill.

Several activists directly linked what they said was the government’s harmful rhetoric to the killing of Ms Abramidze.

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One of the first openly trans public figures in the country, she had represented Georgia in international trans pageants and had more than 500,000 followers on social media.

“Political homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia have become central to the government’s official discourse and ideology,” said local human rights group the Social Justice Center.

“Kesaria Abramidze’s killing cannot be viewed separately from this overall grave context,” it added.

Progressive politicians outside the country have also linked the killing to the government’s legislative agenda.

“Those who sow hatred will reap violence. Kesaria Abramidze was killed just one day after the Georgian parliament passed the anti-LGBTI law,” wrote German lawmaker Michael Roth, the social democratic chair of the country’s foreign affairs committee.

European Union figures had already condemned the legislation when it passed earlier this week, saying it further jeopardised the country’s stated aim of joining the EU.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said the law was “further derailing the country from its EU path”. He called on the Georgian government to withdraw the law.

The legislation undermines the “fundamental rights of the people” and increases discrimination and stigmatisation, he added.

The British embassy has also expressed “serious concerns”.

Rights groups have characterised the Georgian legislation as being similar to Russian laws which severely restrict LGBT rights.

The Washington-based think tank Freedom House said the bill was “pulled directly from the Kremlin’s authoritarian playbook”.