Russian Court Extends Detention of Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva

Alsu Kurmasheva is a Prague-based Russian-American journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir Service. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is funded by the United States government. 

Alsu has been detained in Kazan, Russia since October 18, 2023, while she visited her mother, who was ill, on the charge of failing to register as a foreign agent. Journalists are not safe in Russia, as we know from the case of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Moscow despite the fact he was authorized to work as a journalist in Russia. Evan’s pre-trial detention was extended an additional three months last week. He is held on espionage charges, which are denied by Evan, the Wall Street Journal, his family, and the State Department. 

Alsu is also accused of disseminating false information about the Russian military in a book she helped edit that criticizes the invasion of Ukraine. She was fined for failing to register her U.S. passport in Russia. Notification of dual citizenship became a legal requirement in 2014. 

She could receive a sentence of 15 years in prison. She was the second journalist to be detained last year. 

“Alsu’s imprisonment is as outrageous today as it was six months ago,” said RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus. “She’s already missed too many birthdays and holidays with her husband and daughters simply because she holds an American passport and went to visit her sick mother.”

Alsu told Russian reporters on Monday that she is not physically well. She said her living conditions are very poor and she receives minimal medical care.

Emily Wilkins, president of the National Press Club, and Gil Klein, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute released a statement on Monday when the news broke.

“Alsu Kurmasheva committed no crime. Yet she has been unjustly detained and forced to live in horrific conditions while her pre-trial has been delayed yet again to June 5.

“Adding to our concern are Alsu’s statements to reporters that she is “not very well physically” and her living conditions in prison ‘are very bad,’ including primitive conditions in her cell with a hole as a toilet.

“There is no reason to delay a trial because no evidence exists that Alsu has done anything wrong. She is a target because she is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime. Alsu must be released now.

“Alsu’s horrific conditions could be eased if the State Department declares Alsu ‘wrongfully detained’ – something that should have been done as soon as she was kidnapped. We call on the State Department to take action and declare Alsu ‘wrongfully detained’ today.”

Evan Gershkovich has been designated as wrongfully detained by the State Department. It gives them more tools to use to work on his release. 

Putin is snatching American citizens to use as leverage in prisoner swaps. He is escalating it now by grabbing American journalists, something not done in Russia since the end of the Cold War. Putin does so with impunity because Joe Biden is seen as weak on the world stage. 

Alsu’s situation looks more like a beef against her employer than against her. 

RFE/RL receives funding from the U.S. government. The Tatar-Bashkir language service, for which Kurmasheva is an editor, and eight other branches were designated as foreign agents in 2017, according to RFE/RL.

Dozens of RFE/RL employees also had received such a designation. Kurmasheva hadn’t, it has said, but Russia’s foreign agent law now requires Russian citizens to register themselves as foreign agents if they are deemed to fit the criteria.

A judge at the Sovetsky District Court in Kazan said Alsu will be held until June 5.