A Russian court on Friday again extended the pretrial detention of American-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva — this time by two months, until August 5.
A Prague-based journalist with VOA’s sister outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kurmasheva has been jailed since October 2023 on charges of failing to self-register as a so-called “foreign agent” and spreading what Moscow views as false information about the Russian military.
Kurmasheva and her employer reject the charges, which carry a combined sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Press freedom groups have widely condemned the charges as bogus, and the U.S. government has called for her immediate release.
On Friday, the Sovetsky District Court of Kazan also rejected a request by Kurmasheva's lawyers to have her detention switched to house arrest.
“The injustices multiply every day in this needless, cruel prosecution. Alsu's fundamental rights as an American citizen are being denied by Russian authorities who have now imprisoned her for 227 days,” RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement after the decision.
"In that time, Alsu has not even had a single phone call with her loving children and husband; she's been denied U.S. consular access as well as basic, adequate levels of health care. Alsu should be home in Prague with her daughters helping them study for final exams — not locked up in a Russian prison on baseless charges,” Capus said.
A dual U.S.-Russian national, Kurmasheva traveled to Russia in May 2023 for a family emergency. When she tried to leave the country in June of that year, her passports were confiscated. The journalist was waiting for them to be returned when she was detained in October 2023.
Kurmasheva’s husband Pavel Butorin condemned the ruling in a statement on the social media platform X.
“Alsu is not a criminal. She’s not an activist, not a member of the Russian opposition, and presents no threat to the Russian government. Alsu doesn’t belong in prison. She doesn’t belong in Russia,” said Butorin, who is the director of Current Time TV, a Russian-language TV and digital network led by RFE/RL in partnership with VOA.
“As today’s ruling by Judge Sukhova proves, we can’t expect justice from the Russian justice system. Alsu and her family rely on the U.S. government to mobilize the resources necessary to secure her safe release from wrongful detention in Russia,” Butorin said.
Press freedom groups have criticized the State Department for not declaring Kurmasheva wrongfully detained, which would open additional resources to help secure her release.
When American journalist Evan Gershkovich was detained in March 2023, the U.S. government quickly designated that the Wall Street Journal reporter as wrongfully detained.
Gershkovich is jailed on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government have denied. He faces up to 20 years behind bars.
In Kurmasheva’s case, deliberations were held behind closed doors Friday, but representatives from the Australian and Czech embassies, along with journalists, were allowed into the courtroom for other parts of Kurmasheva’s hearing.
Before the decision was handed down, Kurmasheva showed reporters children's drawings she had received.
“Considering that this is probably the only grass and trees I will see this summer, this is priceless,” Kurmasheva told reporters as she held up the drawings from inside the glass-walled defendant’s box in the courtroom.
Kurmasheva, 47, also spoke of her health issues, saying she has been feeling steadily worse and needs surgery.
The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.
The National Press Club in Washington on Friday described the extension of Kurmasheva’s pretrial detention as a “disgrace.”
“This is a cruel and disturbing outcome,” National Press Club President Emily Wilkins said in a statement. “We call, again, for the U.S. government to do the right thing and declare Alsu wrongly detained. Doing so would send a strong message that Alsu's government is fully behind her. She deserves no less.”
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists also called on the United States to declare Kurmasheva wrongfully detained. In a statement Friday, the CPJ said that Russian authorities should also grant consular access and appropriate medical care.
