Russia Trades Detained French Academic for Basketball Player Amid Espionage Charges

Russia has swapped jailed French researcher Laurent Vinatier for a Russian basketball player detained in France, according to state media reports on Thursday, referencing the Federal Security Service (FSB).

«The Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who was apprehended in France and had extradition requests from the United States, has been returned to Russia. He was exchanged for French national Laurent Claude Jean-Louis Vinatier,» TASS, the state-run news agency, quoted the FSB as saying.

Vinatier, aged 49, was serving a three-year prison sentence in Russia and was also facing new espionage allegations that could potentially result in an additional 20-year sentence.

This story is ongoing.