Alsu Kurmasheva. Photo: RusNews
A Russian court has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who works for US-funded media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to six-and-a-half years in prison for “spreading fake news” about the Russian military, the Associated Press reported on Monday.
Kurmasheva was convicted in Kazan in southwest Russia on Friday, the same day another US journalist, Evan Gershkovich, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage by a court in Yekaterinburg. Both Kurmasheva and Gershkovich are widely expected to be used by Russia to negotiate potential prisoner swaps with the West.
As Kurmasheva’s trial was heard behind closed doors, the news of her verdict and sentencing was only reported on Monday.
After travelling to Russia in May 2023 for a private visit, Kurmasheva, who works for Idel.Realii, the Tatar-Bashkir service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was detained at Kazan Airport on 2 June while waiting for her flight home.
While she was initially fined and had her two passports seized for failing to declare her US citizenship to the Russian authorities, fresh charges soon followed, including failure to register as a “foreign agent” and spreading “false information” about the Russian military. The exact details of Kurmasheva’s case remain unclear.
Stephen Capus, RFE/RL president and CEO, told AP that Kurmasheva’s trial was “a mockery of justice” and said that “the only just outcome is for Alsu to be immediately released from prison by her Russian captors”.
