France Detains Four in Investigation of Alleged Assassination Plot Targeting Russian Activist

France has detained four individuals as part of an investigation into a suspected plot targeting an unnamed Russian dissident, according to anti-terrorism prosecutors who provided updates on Thursday.

According to earlier reports from Le Parisien, Vladimir Osechkin, the head of the Gulagu.net initiative focused on revealing abuses within Russian prisons, was allegedly the aim of a «liquidation scheme.»

When approached by AFP, the prosecutors declined to disclose the identity of the dissident believed to be at risk.

«The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office (PNAT) has initiated an inquiry on charges of involvement in a terrorist organization aimed at preparing crimes against individuals,» the office stated in a release.

The arrests occurred on Monday, involving four men aged between 26 and 38.

Le Parisien indicated that these individuals were either French nationals or from Dagestan, a region within Russia’s North Caucasus.

The PNAT began its preliminary investigation into the purported plot on September 19 and tasked French domestic intelligence with further inquiries.

Osechkin has been residing in Biarritz, a resort town in southwest France.

In September 2022, French prosecutors launched an investigation into alleged death threats against Osechkin, but concluded there was «no objective evidence» to substantiate his claims of an assassination attempt.

Osechkin recounted to AFP that he had been at home with his family, working in low light, when he noticed «a moving red dot on the railing of one of the terraces that then appeared to be aiming at me on the wall.»

He reported being alerted in February of that year about a potential assassination plot and was later placed under police protection.

Gulagu.net gained attention in 2021 after releasing videos that documented rapes in Russian prisons, along with testimonies from both victims and, unusually, the offenders, which prompted an investigation by authorities.

The organization asserts it possesses over 1,000 videos depicting torture within Russian correctional facilities.