Russia: Court Extends Detention of Journalist Kurmasheva

Facts

• Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva had her pre-trial detention extended until February. Kurmasheva is an editor for the US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Tatar-Bashkir service and is accused of not registering as a “foreign agent” and collecting Russian military information.¹
• A court in the city of Kazan extended her detention until Feb. 5 without setting a trial date. RFE/RL acting president Jeffrey Gedmin released a statement confirming the situation and criticizing Kurmasheva’s detention as “unjust” and “politically motivated.”²
• Kurmasheva was detained in Kazan on Oct. 18 after she had been in Russia since May 20 for a family emergency. She is a dual citizen who holds Russian and US passports, which were confiscated in June after she was briefly detained. Her October detention came as she awaited the return of her passports.³
• Russia designates RFE/RL as a foreign agent since it is funded by foreign governments for political reasons. Kurmasheva resides in Prague, Czech Republic, and was required to disclose that she was a foreign agent when she arrived in Russia; she is accused of collecting information on Russia’s military activities to transmit to foreign sources.⁴
• Kurmasheva faces five years in prison for not registering as a foreign agent. She was also fined 10K roubles ($103) on Oct. 11 for not registering her US passport with Russian authorities.⁵
• She is the second US journalist Russia has detained since its war in Ukraine started. Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges in March, which could amount to 20 years in prison.⁴

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Reuters, ³Verity, ⁴Daily Mail and ⁵US News & World Report.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Committee to Protect Journalists. Russia continues to show a complete lack of regard for basic human rights as it continues to hold Alsu Kurmasheva as a political hostage. She did absolutely nothing wrong but is being abused for simply existing as an independent journalist in an authoritarian country. Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has only dialed up its attack on free speech, and this gross abuse of power must be condemned and stopped. Kurmasheva must be released immediately.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by RT. Western propaganda machines push utter falsehoods about Russia with no interest in telling the truth. The US claims that Russia is engaged in the persecution of American journalists when the fact is that Russia is simply implementing its national laws that require foreign agents to identify themselves. Russian law is crystal clear — RFE/RL is a foreign-funded media outlet that is political in nature, and Alsu Kurmasheva is a political actor who is gathering information on the Russian military.

Predictions