Four men charged in alleged plot to attack Russian dissident in southern France

Russian dissident Vladimir Ossetchkine in Paris, September 20, 2022. JOEL SAGET/AFP

This is the second case since the start of the year in which individuals have been arrested and charged in connection with a planned violent act targeting a foreign dissident living in France. After the case involving Algerian blogger Amir Boukhors (known as "Amir DZ") – in which several French and Algerian nationals, including a consular official, were charged in connection with a kidnapping – Le Parisien reported on Thursday, October 16, that four men are under investigation for allegedly plotting to attack Russian dissident Vladimir Ossetchkine. Ossetchkine lives in the southwestern French town of Biarritz in exile and is the founder of Gulagu.net, a human rights advocacy group focused on abuses in Russia.

An investigation by the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) led to the arrest of four men, aged 26 to 38, on October 13. After spending four days in police custody at the DGSI headquarters in Levallois-Perret (just outside of Paris), they were charged and placed in preventive detention on Friday morning, in accordance with the requests of the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT).