Russian court sentences U.S.-Russian journalist for false reporting

A Russian court has sentenced U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to six and a half years (or 78 months) in prison for allegedly reporting false information regarding the army.

The closed-door trial culminated in the verdict on July 19, as reported by daily newspaper Vedomosti citing documents from the Supreme Court of Tatarstan.

The basis for the sentence was a book published by U.S.-Russian journalist Kurmasheva in November 2022, titled “Saying No to War, 40 Stories of Russians Who Oppose the Russian Invasion of Ukraine,” according to Russian opposition platform Meduza.

Around the same time, U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich from the Wall Street Journal was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Moscow for alleged espionage following a closed-door trial.

The United States has repeatedly accused the Russian government of mistreating U.S. citizens to serve political agendas.

Kurmasheva, employed by the Tatar-Bashkir service of the U.S. foreign broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), had been in custody since October.

Stephen Capus, head of RFE/RL, condemned the trial and conviction as “a mockery of justice,” asserting that “the only just outcome is for Alsu to be immediately released from prison by her Russian captors.”

Kurmasheva, who possesses both U.S. and Russian citizenship, resides in Prague and had traveled to Russia in May 2023 to visit her mother. However, just before her planned return, her passports were confiscated.

Radio Free Europe, headquartered in Prague, was established in 1949 during the Cold War, with an annual budget of over $100 million funded by the U.S. Congress.