Russia holds Frenchman accused of gathering military information

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00:00A flash of a badge, then two masked officers approach the person sitting on a Moscow cafe

00:05terrace.

00:06They put him in a van, which then heads to the Investigative Committee of Russia, the

00:11agency with jurisdiction over serious crimes, and which released this video.

00:17The man taken in is a French citizen, Laurent Venatier, a researcher specialising in international

00:23relations and Eurasia.

00:26At first, authorities said Venatier was suspected of gathering information on Russian military

00:31activities, which could be used against the security of the state.

00:35But then it said the Frenchman, who works for a Geneva-based NGO, the Centre for Humanitarian

00:39Dialogue, was being charged with violating the law on foreign agents.

00:44It requires anyone in Russia working for a foreign-funded organisation to register with

00:50authorities.

00:51Critics say it's a tool to stifle voices critical of the Kremlin.

00:56French President Emmanuel Macron called the arrest an example of Russian propaganda.

01:01It comes at a time when tensions between Paris and Moscow are particularly strained.

01:06With the war in Ukraine raging, Russian President Vladimir Putin was not invited to the D-Day

01:11commemorations in France.

01:13And Russia is accused of a series of disruptive activities in France, including waging a disinformation

01:20campaign intended to destabilise the country before the Olympic Games next month.

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