American journalist arrested in Russia under catch-all 'foreign agent' law
Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Russian authorities detained and charged an American journalist working for Radio Free Europe-Liberty Radio in the Czech Republic.
Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor who covers Russia's Volga-Ural region from the network's Prague headquarters was arrested Wednesday on charges of failing to register as a "foreign agent," an offense that carries a maximum prison sentence of five years, RFE-RL said in a news release calling for the immediate release of the dual U.S.-Russian citizen.
"Alsu is a highly respected colleague, devoted wife, and dedicated mother to two children," said RFE/RL acting President Jeffrey Gedmin.
"She needs to be released so she can return to her family immediately."
Kurmasheva was initially detained at Kazan Airport on June 2 as she was returning to Prague from visiting family in the region. Security officials took away her U.S. and Russian passports and fined her for failing to register them with the authorities, according to RFE.
She was expecting her travel documents to be given back when she was re-arrested and charged.
RFE, which is funded by the U.S. Congress, said Kurmasheva covered ethnic minority communities in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan reporting on efforts to protect and preserve the Tatar language and culture amid increased pressure on Tatars from Russian authorities in recent years.
Russian human rights group OVD-Info said it was alarmed that Kurmasheva had been charged using an article of the foreign agent law agent covering the gathering of information on Russian military activities that "could be used against the security of the Russian Federation."
The group said it was the first time that it was aware of that the article had been used to prosecute someone.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it was "deeply concerned" and called for Kurmasheva's release and the dropping of all charges against her.
"Journalism is not a crime and Kurmasheva's detention is yet more proof that Russia is determined to stifle independent reporting," said CPJ Europe and Central Asia program coordinator Said Gulnoza.
Kurmasheva's arrest comes days after a Moscow judge agreed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich' should remain in pre-trial detention until Nov. 30, as he awaits trial on espionage charges.
The secret court hearing rejected Gershkovich's appeal against the decision handed down in August. The journalist who was arrested in March faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, if found guilty.
Authorities in France are also investigating the suspected poisoning of former Russian state TV anchor Marina Ovsyannikova who spoke out against Russia's war on Ukraine during a live broadcast.
Ovsyannikova was briefly hospitalized Thursday after calling police to her Paris apartment saying she had been taken ill after coming into contact with a toxic powdery substance.
A week earlier, she had been sentenced in absentia to more than eight years in prison for "disseminating false information."
