A Russian court on Thursday extended the detention of Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until April 5, announced her employer, the media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
A Kazan court, following a closed-door hearing,
“extended the arrest of Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until April 5
,” RFE/RL reported on Telegram.
The court confirmed this information in a press release.
Accused of failing to register as a
“foreign agent
,” she is one of two American reporters to have been arrested in Russia last year, along with Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal.
The status of
“foreign agent”
, which recalls the Soviet term
“enemy of the people”
, imposes administrative constraints and very heavy financial control on the persons or entities concerned.
New lawsuits
Alsu Kurmasheva, whose Prague-based media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is funded by the US Congress, was arrested in October 2023 in Kazan, the capital of the Volga republic of Tatarstan.
“Alsu Kurmasheva's lawyer insisted on replacing her detention with house arrest, but this appeal was rejected by the court
,” RFE/RL said.
The journalist, who usually lives in Prague with her husband and two teenage daughters, went to Russia for a
“family emergency”
on May 20 but was unable to leave, her American and Russian passports having been confiscated. confiscated.
In December, her employer denounced the opening of new proceedings against her, reported by Russian media.
According to the Baza and Tatar Inform media, the journalist is now being prosecuted for disseminating
“false information”
about the Russian army, a crime punishable by prison.
In question, his participation in the publication last year of a book entitled
“Say no to war, 40 stories of Russians opposed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine”
.
Russian campaign against independent media
“Journalism is not a crime. It is time for this cruel persecution to stop
,” denounced Jeffrey Gedmin, interim president of RFE/RL, in December.
Rights groups say Alsu Kurmasheva's detention is a new step in Russia's campaign against independent media, which has intensified since Russia's offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.
Alsu Kurmasheva, who joined RFE/RL in 1998, works for her service in the Tatar and Bashkir languages, covering these ethnic minorities in Russia inhabiting in particular Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, the Volga and the Ural regions.
Headquartered in Prague, RFE/RL was founded during the Cold War to counter Soviet propaganda in the Eastern Bloc.
It still broadcasts content in a multitude of languages in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes.
The other American journalist arrested, Evan Gershkovich, arrested on March 29, 2023 while reporting, is detained in Moscow on espionage charges that he rejects, just like Washington, his newspaper and his relatives.
His pre-trial detention was recently extended until March 30, 2024.