French citizen accused of unlawfully collecting military information in Russia on trial next week

MOSCOW (AP) — Court officials say the trial of a French citizen arrested in Russia on charges of unlawfully collecting information on military issues has been scheduled to begin next week. The first hearing in the trial of Laurent Vinatier has been scheduled for Sept. 3. He was arrested in the Russian capital in June as tensions flared between Moscow and Paris following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine. Russian authorities accuse the adviser with a Switzerland-based nongovernmental organization of failing to register as a “foreign agent.” Vinatier could face up to five years in prison.