Russian-American journalist Alsou Kurmasheva was arrested Last Wednesday, October 18, in Kazan, the capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, he was accused of refuse to register as a “foreign agent”This was reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the media outlet for which he works.

The crime of which the journalist, a member of the editorial board of the Tatar-Bashkir service of RFE/RL, based in Prague, is accused In Russia, this is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years.

“Alsu is a highly respected colleague, devoted wife and devoted mother of two,” RFE/RL Acting President Jeffrey Gedmin said in a statement posted on social media site X.

“She needs to be released so she can immediately return to her family,” he stressed.

Kurmasheva went to Russia on May 20 for family reasons. She was detained on June 2 as she prepared to board her return flight.

Russian authorities confiscated his Russian and American passports, fined him for failing to disclose his second citizenship, and released him.

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Journalist He remained in Kazan and waited until his passport was returned to him to leave Russia.when she was arrested last Wednesday on charges of failing to register as a “foreign agent” with the Justice Department.

His media recalled that Russia has been using laws on foreign agents since 2021 to punish perceived government critics who receive foreign funding or are considered to be “foreign influenced”, including civil society groups, media outlets, independent journalists and activists.

The detention of Kurmasheva is not the first time this year in Russia of journalists with American citizenship.

On March 30, the Russian Federal Security Service reported this. arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkowitz.

He was arrested in Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage for allegedly collecting information about one of the companies of the Russian military-industrial complex, which constitutes a state secret.

(EFE)