A Russian court ordered this Monday the placement in pre-trial detention “until December 5” of Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, arrested last week, becoming the second American reporter detained in the country. Russia has been waging a vast campaign of repression against independent media, NGOs, lawyers and opponents since the start of its assault on Ukraine in February 2022.
The journalist was arrested on Wednesday and is accused of breaches linked to her registration in the register of “foreign agents” while she was engaged in “the intentional collection of information regarding military activities” could be harmful to “the security of Russia”the court said last week.
Alsu Kurmasheva, who works for the American media Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), faces up to five years in prison. Its interim president, Jeffrey Gedmin, called for “immediate release” from his journalist.