Russian-American journalist sentenced to a long sentence in Russia

Alsu Kurmasheva works for the online newspaper Tatar-Bashkir, which receives financial support from Congress in Washington and is part of Radio Free Europe (RFE).

RFE is considered a foreign agent because the radio station receives foreign support to carry out what the Russian authorities consider to be political activity.

The verdict was handed down in the city of Kazan on Friday, the same day that Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage in the city of Yekaterinburg.

The verdict against Kurmasheva can be found on the website of the highest court of Tatarstan in western Russia. A spokesperson confirms to AP on the phone that the sentence is for six and a half years, but that the case as such is classified. There is no detailed information about the charges.

RFE chief Stephen Capus says the trial is a travesty of justice and that the only acceptable solution is for Kurmasheva to be released immediately.

RFE states that she left for Russia on May 20, 2023 due to a family emergency. While waiting to fly back from Kazan on June 2, she was apprehended and her passports were confiscated, it added.

She was fined for failing to register her US passport with Russian authorities, and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, an offense punishable by five years in prison.