U.S. Calls For Release Of RFE/RL Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva After Russia Convicts Her In Swift, Secret Trial

The United States on Monday condemned Russia's sentencing of RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to six-and-a-half years in prison for so-called violating strict military censorship laws, and reiterated its calls for her release, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"She’s a dedicated journalist who is being targeted by Russian authorities for her uncompromising commitment to speaking the truth and her principled reporting," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN's questions. "Journalism is not a crime, as you have heard us say on a number of occasions, and we continue to make very clear that she should be released," he added.

Kurmasheva, an editor with the RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir service, was detained in Kazan on October 18, 2023, on charges of failing to register as a “foreign agent.”

A few months later, a second charge of spreading “fake” information about the Russian army was brought against her.

Kurmasheve’s closed-door hearing took place last week on the same day that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in jail on "espionage" charges.

“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,” RFE/RL President Stephen Capus said on Monday.

“Russia’s secret trial and unjust sentencing of American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva prolongs a nightmare for an innocent family,” said USAGM CEO Amanda Bennett. “Alsu’s daughters and husband haven’t seen her in more than a year. It’s a sad day for press freedom – and it’s time for Alsu to be reunited with her family.”

Pavel Butorin, Alsu's husband, who also works for RFE/RL, wrote on social media: "My daughters and I know Alsu has done nothing wrong. And the world knows it too. We need her home."

Butorin has petitioned for the U.S. government to designate Kurmasheva as wrongfully detained to open up further diplomatic avenues to negotiate her release.

State Department's Miller declined to comment on whether the latest court decision would expedite the department's decision to designate Kurmasheva wrongfully detained. "I’m just not going to speak to the internal dynamics at all," he told TURAN's correspondent. "We remain focused on the case of Alsu Kurmasheva," he added.