Following the arrest of reporter Evan Gershkovich, another American journalist was detained in Russia. A Russian court yesterday ordered Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to be taken into custody. According to reports from Russian news agencies, she will initially remain in prison until December 5. The judges thus followed the argument of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which accused Kurmasheva of not having registered as a “foreign agent”.
According to the court order, Kurmasheva was to remain in custody in the central Russian city of Kazan as a “preventive measure,” Interfax news agency reported. If she is found guilty, she could face up to five years in prison.
The Russian-American journalist works for the US-funded outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFL/RL). According to the broadcaster, she lives in Prague with her husband and two teenage children. Kurmasheva was arrested on Wednesday by Russian law enforcement authorities in Kazan in the Tatarstan region and has now been taken into custody.