On Tuesday, a Russian court rejected the appeal against the detention of Russian-American journalist Alsou Kurmasheva, who is accused of not registering as a “foreign agent.”
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Ms. Kurmasheva and her lawyer requested that the restraint measure be changed from detention to house arrest. The court rejected the appeal.
Alsou Kurmasheva is one of two American journalists arrested in Russia this year. The first was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal Ivan Gershkovitch, arrested in March on charges of “espionage.”It is an accusation that he and his employer strongly reject.
Ms Kurmasheva, who works for the US-funded media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was arrested in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The journalist, who usually lives in Prague with her husband and two teenage daughters, had gone to Russia on a “family emergency” on May 20, but was unable to leave because her American and Russian passports were confiscated.
A Russian court ruled last week to keep her in pre-trial detention until at least December 5 on charges of failing to register as a “foreign agent,” a crime that could carry a penalty of up to five years in prison.
His employer requested his immediate release.
Rights groups say his arrest marks a new beginning in the Russian campaign against independent media, which has intensified significantly since the February 2022 Russian attack in Ukraine.
