Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist working for Radio Free Europe, was arrested in Russia (Picture: East2West/Reuters)
A Russian-American journalist was arrested in Russia and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent.
Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Tatar-Bashkir language service, was arrested by Russian authorities on Wednesday.
Kurmasheva holds Russian and American citizenship and is based in Prague. She traveled to Russia for a family emergency in May.
She was detained while trying to fly home from Kazan International Airport on June 2. Both her Russian and American passports were confiscated by authorities, and she was banned from leaving the country.
Alsu Kurmasheva is an editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar and Bashkir language service (Picture: AP)
Kurmasheva was fined for failing to register her American passport after entering the country. She was waiting for her passports to be returned when she when Russian authorities announced she was being charged as a ‘foreign agent.’
RFE/RL is a US government funded news agency based in Prague. It was founded during the Cold War and used to broadcast anti-Communist propaganda in the Eastern Bloc.
Although CIA involvement in RFE/RL ended in 1972, the broadcaster is still considered a foreign agent in Russia.
Kurmasheva was seen being walked into a Russian courthouse by men wearing black balaclavas, according to photos published by Russian news agency Tatar-Inform.
Kurmasheva was seen being walked into a Russian courtroom by masked men on Wednesday (Picture: Rossiya 1 Tatarstan/east2west)
According to the news agency, Kurmasheva was accused of ‘targeted collection of military information’ in September 2022, and may face additional charges for writing a book critical of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Kurmasheva’s colleagues in the US and Europe have criticized the arrest and called for her release.
‘Alsu is a highly respected colleague, devoted wife, and dedicated mother to two children,’ said RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin. ‘She needs to be released so she can return to her family immediately.’
Gulnoza Said, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Europe and Central Asia director, called the charges ‘deeply concerning.’
Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist working for the Wall Street Journal, was detained on espionage charges earlier this year (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP) (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Journalism is not a crime and Kurmasheva’s detention is yet more proof that Russia is determined to stifle independent reporting,’ Said said.
Kurmasheva is the second American journalist arrested in Russia and charged with espionage in 2023.
Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was arrested and charged with espionage while covering the country’s ongoing war with Ukraine in March.
Gershkovich was arrested while on assignment in Yekaterinburg, and has been held in Moscow’s notorious Lerftovo Prison ever since.
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Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir language service, was arrested by Russian authorities on Wednesday.