American RFE/RL reporter Alsu Kurmasheva tried & convicted in Russian Court
Washington, D.C. — According to the Associated Press (AP), American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has been tried and convicted in secret in a Russian court on baseless charges that have grown progressively more serious since her imprisonment more than nine months ago. The report says she has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.
RFE/RL President & CEO Stephen Capus said:
“This secret trial and conviction make a mockery of justice — the only just outcome is for Alsu to be immediately released from prison by her Russian captors. It’s beyond time for this American citizen, our dear colleague, to be reunited with her loving family.”
Alsu has been in prison since October 18, 2023. She traveled to Russia to visit her ailing elderly mother on May 20, 2023, but was prevented from boarding her return flight on June 2 when authorities confiscated her American and Russian passports. She was subsequently handed a minor fine for failure to register her U.S. passport. Then, she was detained on a novel “foreign agent” charge.
According to the AP, Alsu was “convicted of ‘spreading false information’ about the military, according to the website of the Supreme Court of Tatarstan. Court spokesperson Natalya Loseva confirmed to The Associated Press by phone that Kurmasheva was sentenced to 6½ years in prison in a case classified as secret, with no details available of the nature of the accusations against her.”
Alsu’s husband and daughters live in Prague. She is an accomplished journalist who has been with RFE/RL since 1998, covering ethnic minority communities in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan.
About RFE/RL
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, Internet, television, and mobile — reach influential audiences in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through USAGM.
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Contact Ari Goldberg
Communications Director, Washington, D.C.
- goldberga@rferl.org
- 202-993-0875