A Russian court has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to six and a half years in prison. Kurmasheva, a 47-year-old editor for RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir language service, was convicted of “spreading false information” about the Russian military after a two-day trial. The conviction, which occurred on Friday in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s central region of Tatarstan, was classified as secret.
Kurmasheva’s family, her employer, and the U.S. government have condemned the charges against her and called for her release. Kurmasheva’s husband, Pavel Butorin, said on X that he and his daughters know she is innocent. He stated that the charges stemmed from a book released in 2022 by the Tatar-Bashkir service called “No to War” — a collection of stories from Russians opposed to the war in Ukraine. Butorin asserted that the book does not contain any “false information.”
Matthew Miller, the U.S. State Department spokesman, accused Russian authorities of targeting Kurmasheva for her honest reporting. He emphasized the U.S.’s demand for her immediate release. Stephen Capus, RFE/RL President and CEO, denounced the trial and conviction as a “mockery of justice” and called for Kurmasheva’s release. He stated that it is time for this American citizen and colleague to be reunited with her family.
Kurmasheva, who holds both U.S. and Russian citizenship, was detained in October 2023. She had been in Russia visiting her ill mother, but was stopped at Kazan International Airport. Authorities confiscated her passports and fined her for failing to register her U.S. passport. While awaiting the return of her passports, Kurmasheva was arrested on new charges.
RFE/RL has repeatedly called for her release. The organization was designated a foreign agent by Russia in 2017, a designation that has been challenged in the European Court of Human Rights. Russia has fined RFE/RL millions of dollars. Reporters Without Borders condemned the conviction, labeling it a “mockery of justice” aimed at dissuading journalists from traveling to Russia and pressuring the U.S.
In February, RFE/RL was outlawed in Russia as an undesirable organization. Its Tatar-Bashkir service is the only major international news provider reporting in those languages, in addition to Russian, to audiences in the multi-ethnic, Muslim-majority Volga-Urals region.
The swift and secretive trials of Kurmasheva and Gershkovich in Russia’s highly politicized legal system have led to speculation of a possible prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington. Russia has indicated a potential exchange involving Gershkovich, but only after a verdict in his case. Arrests of Americans are becoming increasingly common in Russia, with nine U.S. citizens currently detained amid escalating tensions between the two countries over the conflict in Ukraine.
Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on March 29, 2023, while reporting in Yekaterinburg. Authorities, without offering any evidence, alleged that he was gathering secret information for the U.S. He has been held in prison since his arrest and was transferred to Yekaterinburg for his trial, which concluded on Friday with a sentence of 16 years in prison.
Gershkovich was the first U.S. journalist arrested on espionage charges since Nicholas Daniloff in 1986. Foreign journalists in Russia were shocked by Gershkovich’s arrest, particularly considering the country’s increasingly repressive laws on freedom of speech.
U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the conviction, stating that Gershkovich was targeted because he is a journalist and an American. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Moscow of using individuals as bargaining chips, specifically referencing Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a former Marine serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured that the U.S. is working tirelessly on the cases of Gershkovich, Whelan, and other American detainees around the world. Sam Greene of the Center for European Policy Analysis suggested that the simultaneous convictions of Kurmasheva and Gershkovich might indicate the Kremlin’s preparation for a deal. However, he emphasized that Moscow is unlikely to release its prisoners without significant concessions. Greene cautioned that Washington should act to secure the release of Gershkovich, Kurmasheva, imprisoned opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, and other political prisoners, but emphasized that if Moscow demands the abandonment of Ukraine, the situation becomes significantly more complex.