Russia detains journalist who had dual Russian and US citizenship

Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor at the government-funded US media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), has been detained in Russia for not registering as a “foreign agent” upon her entry into the country during a family emergency.

RFE/RL, in a statement, revealed that Kurmasheva, a dual citizen of Russia and the United States, could face up to five years in prison. Jeffrey Gedmin, acting President of RFE/RL, along with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a press freedom group, expressed concern about Kurmasheva’s situation. Gedmin emphasized her status as a respected colleague, devoted wife, and mother of two, urging her immediate release.

The arrest has drawn criticism from the US State Department, with spokesman Matt Miller characterizing it as another instance of the Russian government harassing US citizens. Despite the arrest, the US government has not received official notification from Russia about the incident.

Russia has tightened media controls following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, leading to the designation of numerous reporters as “foreign agents.” Kurmasheva, who works for RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service, is the second US journalist detained by Russia this year, following the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in March on espionage charges.

Press freedom organizations and the US government have strongly condemned such detentions, viewing them as a means to suppress dissent. CPJ criticized the charges against Kurmasheva as baseless and called for her immediate release. Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, emphasized the need for Russian authorities to drop all charges against Kurmasheva.

According to Tatar-Inform, a state-run news agency in the Tatarstan republic, Kurmasheva is being held in a temporary detention center. Russian authorities have accused her of gathering information on the Russian military to share with foreign sources. Kurmasheva, residing in Prague, traveled to Russia on May 20 for a family emergency.

She was detained at Kazan International Airport on June 2, where officials confiscated her passport and imposed a fine for not registering her US passport with Russian authorities. While awaiting the return of her passports, new charges were levied against her on Wednesday.