French national detained in Russia: sources to AFP
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French ultra distance racer Sofiane Sehili was accused of illegally crossing the border.
PHOTO: SOFIANESHL/INSTAGRAM
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PARIS - A French national has been arrested in Russia and placed in pre-trial detention, French diplomatic sources told AFP on Sept 8.
The detention comes after another French national, Laurent Vinatier, was arrested in Russia in 2024
Paris and Washington have accused Moscow of hostage-taking – arresting their citizens on baseless charges to exchange them for Russians detained in the West.
“We have been informed of the arrest and pre-trial detention of one of our nationals in Russia, in the Far East region,” the sources said, without specifying the date or circumstances of the arrest.
No other details were immediately provided.
“Our consulate general in Moscow has contacted the Russian authorities and requested consular protection,” the sources added.
On Sept 5, French daily Le Monde reported that a French ultra distance racer, who had sought to become the fastest person to cycle across Europe, had been arrested in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok.
Mr Sofiane Sehili, 44, has been accused of illegally crossing the border, according to the newspaper.
Russian state news agency Tass, citing emergency services in the Russian Far East, reported at the weekend that Mr Sehili had been detained in Vladivostok on suspicion of illegally crossing the border.
On his website, Mr Sehili describes himself as an ultra-endurance racer and adventure cyclist based in the southwest of France.
“I live and breathe for cycling,” he wrote in English. “A pure and unaltered passion that has shaped my life for the past fifteen years.”
Mr Vinatier, a 49-year-old researcher with a Swiss conflict mediation NGO, was arrested in Russia in June 2024 and sentenced for breaching the country’s foreign agents law, in a case decried by France as “arbitrary”.
He has now been implicated in what appear to be fresh allegations of espionage, which carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. AFP
