A Russian-American radio journalist working for a US government-funded media organization was visiting family when she was detained by authorities and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, according to reports — even as a Wall Street Journal reporter remains in jail over suspicion of espionage.
Alsu Kurmasheva, 47, a Prague-based editor for Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Tatar-Bashkir Service, was arrested on Wednesday and was being held in a temporary detention center in Kazan — a major city 500 miles east of Moscow — as of Wednesday night, her employer reported.
She will likely be moved to a pretrial detention center as she awaits a hearing, though it wasn’t immediately clear when Kurmasheva’s trial is set to begin.
The mother of two had flown to Russia on May 20 for a family emergency, according to the RFE/RL, and was stopped at the Kazan airport ahead of her return flight on June 2 for failing to register her US passport with the Russian authorities.
That day, Kurmasheva — who has US and Russian passports because of her dual citizenship — had both passports confiscated and has not been able to leave Russia since.
“Alsu is a highly respected colleague, devoted wife and dedicated mother to two children,” Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin, RFE/RL’s acting president, said in a statement. “She needs to be released so she can return to her family immediately.”
Kurmasheva’s detainment this week marks the second time a US journalist has been held up in Russia this year.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, 31, was arrested on suspicion of espionage while on a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg in March. He will be jailed in Moscow until at least Nov. 30 after losing his latest appeal.
Kurmasheva, meanwhile, wasn’t on assignment when she was held up by Russian authorities.
A criminal case was then opened against Kurmasheva, who was ordered to pay a fine while awaiting the return of her travel documents.
However, on Oct. 18, Russian authorities announced a new charge against Kurmasheva, saying she “deliberately conducted a targeted collection of military information about Russian activities via the Internet in order to transmit information to foreign sources,” according to the Tatar-Inform agency.
The charge in Russia carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Russia has leveraged its so-called “foreign agent” laws to punish critics of its government policies since at least 2012, according to RFE/RL.
Foreign agent-related charges have also been used to shut down media groups in Russia since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine.
Analysts have said jailing Americans may be a ploy for Russia, which can use US citizens as bargaining chips in prisoner swaps with high-profile Russians who are in custody on American soil.
The Russian news site reported that Kurmasheva could also be facing additional charges for editing a book that “exposes Russia’s special operation in Ukraine in a negative light.”
The Tatar-Inform agency shared a video of Kurmasheva being escorted into an administrative building on Wednesday as two men wearing balaclavas — a ski mask-like garment that covers someone’s face — held both of her arms.
The novel, titled “Saying No to War,” features stories of 40 Russians who oppose the invasion of Ukraine.
“She needs to be released so she can return to her family immediately,” RFE/RL acting President Jeffrey Gedmin said in a statement.
“Alsu is a highly respected colleague, devoted wife, and dedicated mother to two children.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists called the charges against Kurmasheva “spurious,” and the agency urged “Russian authorities to release her immediately and drop all charges against her.”
This story originally appeared on NYPost
