Moscow (AFP) - Russia said Thursday it had freed French researcher Laurent Vinatier in a prisoner exchange, more than 18 months after arresting him on suspicion of violating “foreign agent” laws that Paris had denounced as abhorrent.

He was released in exchange for 26-year-old basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, arrested by French authorities last June on US hacking charges, Russia’s FSB said.

“Our compatriot Laurent Vinatier is free and back in France,” President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X. “I share the relief felt by his family and loved ones.”

Vinatier was arrested in Russia in June 2024 while gathering what prosecutors said was information about Russia’s military activities.

He was later sentenced to three years for failing to register as a “foreign agent”, and faced new spying charges that could have seen him sentenced to up to 20 years in jail.

The Kremlin announced last month it had made an offer to France regarding Vinatier – who was working for a Swiss conflict-mediation NGO at the time of his arrest – raising hopes he could be freed.

Russian state TV outlets published a video of a smiling Vinatier being released from jail, dressed in black and with a large black holdall. He was later seen boarding an aircraft.

He arrived in Paris on Thursday, a diplomatic source told AFP.

Russia’s FSB said Vinatier had been “pardoned” by presidential decree.

- ‘Huge relief’ -

Western countries have long accused Russia of arresting their citizens to use as bargaining chips to secure the release of alleged Russian spies and cyber criminals jailed in Europe and the United States.

Kasatkin, whom France released in the deal, was arrested last year at a Paris airport at the request of the United States.

The US accused him of having allegedly taken part in a ransomware hacking ring, a charge he denied.

Video posted by Russia’s FSB later showed Kasatkin arriving in Russia and entering a minibus.

Relations between France and Russia have deteriorated dramatically since the war in Ukraine.

Moscow has directed much of the blame for the war at Paris and other European capitals, while France says Russia is solely responsible for the conflict and could end it if it wished.

An expert on Russia and the former Soviet Union, Vinatier penned more than a dozen academic papers and had previous experience working at NATO and the European Parliament, according to his resume.

At the time of his arrest he was working for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Swiss NGO that mediates conflicts outside official diplomatic channels, particularly pertaining to Ukraine.

During his trial, Vinatier pleaded guilty and asked for a “merciful” sentence, while quoting Russia’s national poet, Alexander Pushkin.

A lawyer representing Vinatier’s family praised his return on Thursday as a “huge relief”.

“We are extremely happy that he has been released for Orthodox Christmas,” Frederic Belot, who also represents the basketball player, told AFP.