Russia prolongs detention of Tatar-language journalist
A district court in Kazan, capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, on Dec. 1 extended the detention of Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist holding joint Russian and United States citizenship. Kurmasheva faces allegations of failing to comply with Russia's stringent "foreign agent" registration law. The decision, extending her pre-trial detention through early February, was made without actually setting a trial date.
Prague-based Kurmasheva, who reports for the Tatar-language service of US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was first detained in May, as she arrived at the airport to fly home after visitng her ailing mother in Kazan. Her US and Russian passports were both seized, preventing her from leaving the country, but she was released—until being arrested at her mother's house in October. She faces charges of failure to register as a "foreign agent," an offense in Russian law that carries a potential five-year prison term.
Jeffrey Gedmin, RFE/RL's acting president, strongly condemned Kurmasheva's detention, denouncing it as unjust and politically motivated. He called on Russian authorities to immediately release her, and grant her the consular access mandated by her US citizenship.
Reporters Without Borders urged the US Department State to designate Kurmasheva as "wrongfully detained," and urged Russia to immediately drop the "ludicrous charges."
This incident marks the second detention of a US journalist in Russia this year. In March, Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal correspondent, was arrested on espionage charges—an accusation vehemently denied by Gershkovich, his employer, and US President Joe Biden. This incident has led to accusations that Moscow is using "hostage diplomacy."
Russia's "foreign agent law" has won international criticism for its role in stifling independent media and dissent. (Jurist, PRI)
See our last reports on the crackdown on dissent in Russia.
Russia prolongs detention of Tatar-language journalist —again
The Sovetsky District Court in Kazan, Russia, extended Feb. 1 the pre-trial detention of Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who stands accused of violating a law on "foreign agents." The court previously determined her pre-trial detention would last until Feb. 5; this has now been extended by two months to April 5. (Jurist)
Russia rejects appeal by Russian-American accused of treason
A Russian court on Feb. 29 rejected an appeal by a Russian-American woman against her detention on a treason charge, according to Reuters and ABC News reporters in the room. The 33-year-old Ksenia Karelina was arrested Jan. 27 and detained in a jail in Yekaterinburg on treason charges. The Federal Security Service (FSB) reported last week that Karelina had been detained on suspicion of donating to a Ukrainian charity that supports Ukraine's armed forces. (Jurist)
Russia prolongs detention of Tatar-language journalist —again
A Russian court in Kazan on April 1 extended the pre-trial detention of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until June 5. The court declined her petition to be moved to house arrest. (Jurist)
Russian journalist's home searched
The media outlet Fontanka.ru reported Apri 19 that their journalist, Ksenia Klochkova, had her home searched by police in connection with a criminal investigation against journalist Andrei Zakharov. Zakharov left Russia in December 2021, having stated that he faced unprecedented surveillance after being designated as a foreign agent. (Jurist)
Russia prolongs detention of Tatar-language journalist —again
A Russian court on May 31 ordered to extend the detention of an American-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva by two months until Aug. 5, after she was charged with failure to register as a foreign agent. According to local media reports, she was denied house arrest. (Jurist)
Russia: journalist Evan Gershkovich to be tried in secret
The Sverdlovsky Regional Court on June 17 declared that the trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich will be held behind closed doors. Gershkovich is held in a pre-trial detention center, his appeal for release denied by the Moscow City Court. (Jurist)
Russia court sentences Russian-American journalist to prison
The Supreme Court of Tatarstan has sentenced Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to six and a half years of imprisonment for spreading false information about the Armed Russian Forces of the Russian Federation in a secret trial, the court’s press service said July 22. (Jurist)
Four days earlier, US journalist Evan Gershkovich has been found guilty of espionage by a Russian court and sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony, after a secretive trial decried as a "sham" by his employer, his family and the White House. (BBC News)
Russian-American sentenced for donating to Ukraine charity
Russian-American dual citizen Ksenia Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony and fined three hundred thousand rubles ($3,400) in a closed session of the Sverdlovsk Regional Court. (Jurist)