French police arrest four in alleged plot targeting exiled Russian activist Vladimir Osechkin

Published on 17/10/2025 - 11:21 GMT+2

Police successful France detained 4 radical suspected of a crippled targeting exiled Russian rights activistic Vladimir Osechkin, who exposes abuses successful Russian prisons, France's nationalist anti-terror prosecution bureau said connected Thursday evening.

The General Directorate for Internal Security, France's counter-espionage and counterterror quality (DGSI), has been the starring the investigation, the anti-terror prosecution bureau said.

It said the 4 men were detained connected Monday but gave nary details astir their nationalities, immoderate imaginable motives for allegedly targeting Osechkin oregon whether the men are suspected of links to overseas spy services.

Osechkin founded Gulagu.net, a rights radical for prisoners successful the notoriously pugnacious Russian situation system.

Osechkin has agelong suspected that helium could beryllium targeted for imaginable assassination due to the fact that of his work, adjacent successful exile successful Biarritz, the formation edifice municipality connected southwest France’s seashore wherever helium lives.

In an interrogation with The Associated Press connected Friday, Osechkin said determination person been repeated threats connected his beingness since 2022, astir precocious successful February this year.

He believes that helium remains astatine hazard though French constabulary carried retired arrests successful the aftermath of those decease threats, adding that helium and his household are often moved to harmless houses erstwhile caller threats emerge.

"Those who were arrested are conscionable a portion of the wide picture, they are portion of a large team," helium said.

Osechkin sought governmental asylum successful France aft fleeing Russia nether unit from authorities implicit his situation activism.

His radical routinely publishes videos and accounts of alleged torture and corruption successful Russian prisons and helium was among the archetypal to uncover that Russia’s subject was recruiting prisoners to combat successful Ukraine.

Gulagu.net besides helped bring Russian fugitive paratrooper Pavel Filatiev to France successful 2022.

Filatiev served successful the Ukraine warfare earlier being injured and aboriginal published accounts online of what helium saw, accusing the Russian subject enactment of betraying their ain troops retired of incompetence and corruption.

The DGSI is 1 of the French agencies that person been investigating what authorities accidental is simply a sustained effort by Russia and Russia-directed proxies to destabilise France with cyberattacks and different acts, portion of a broader alleged run of Russian sabotage and hybrid warfare targeting European allies of Ukraine.