Russia exchanges jailed French academic for basketball player held in Paris

ISTANBUL

Russia exchanged jailed French researcher Laurent Vinatier for a Russian basketball player who was detained in France, the Russian Federal Security Service announced on Thursday.

"(Basketball player) Daniil Kasatkin was exchanged for a citizen of the French Republic, Laurent Claude Jean-Louis Vinatier, born in 1976, who, as an employee of the Swiss non-governmental non-profit organization Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, collected military and military-technical information," Russian state-run news agency Ria Novosti quoted the FSB statement as saying.

Vinatier was pardoned by a decree from Russian President Vladimir Putin before the swap took place. He had been sentenced to three years in prison in October 2024 for failing to register as a foreign agent and was later charged with espionage in May 2025.

Kasatkin's lawyer, Frederic Belot, confirmed that the athlete was released from a French prison and has returned to Moscow. The basketball player was arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris in June 2025 upon a request from the US, where he faced accusations of cybercrime and "conspiracy to commit computer fraud."

While a court in Paris had approved Kasatkin's extradition to the US to face potential imprisonment of up to 25 years, the extradition order was never signed by the French prime minister. Kasatkin has consistently maintained his innocence regarding the hacking allegations.

Footage released by the security service showed Vinatier signing a document confirming his pardon and boarding a plane, while separate videos showed Kasatkin disembarking from an aircraft and entering a vehicle upon his arrival in Russia.