Russia Six and a half years in prison for US journalist Kurmasheva

A Russian court has sentenced the US journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to six and a half years in prison for allegedly reporting false news about the army. The reason for the sentence was a book she published in November 2022 entitled "No to war. 40 stories of Russians resisting the invasion of Ukraine", according to the Russian opposition platform "meduza".

The verdict was handed down on July 19 in a closed session, the daily newspaper "Vedomosti" reported, citing documents from the Supreme Court of Tatarstan.

At almost the same time, the US journalist Evan Gershkovich from the "Wall Street Journal" was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Moscow for alleged espionage. The USA accuses the Russian government of abusing US citizens in order to achieve political goals. Gershkovich's trial was also closed to the public.

Mockery of justice

Kurmasheva, who works for the Tatar program of the US foreign broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), had been imprisoned since October. Stephen Capus, head of RFE/RL, called the trial and conviction "a mockery of justice". He added that "the only just outcome is that Alsu is immediately released from prison by her Russian captors". "It is high time that this American citizen, our dear colleague, be reunited with her beloved family," he said.

Kurmasheva holds both US and Russian citizenship. According to her broadcaster, the 47-year-old, who lives in Prague, had traveled to Russia in May 2023 to visit her mother. Shortly before her planned return flight, her passports were confiscated. Russia's judiciary accuses her of not having registered as a "foreign agent", among other things.

In Russia, people, media and organizations are branded as foreign agents if they receive money from another country. They are thus stigmatized as spies working in the interests of other states. Russia has been cracking down on critical media, particularly since the war of aggression against Ukraine began more than two years ago.

However, the verdict was handed down for false reporting on the Russian armed forces in Ukraine. The Russian judiciary pursues any alleged denigration of the operations with the utmost severity.

Radio Free Europe was founded in 1949 at the height of the Cold War. The US Congress provided the annual budget of the equivalent of more than 100 million euros. Until it moved to Prague in 1995, RFE/RL broadcast from a large building complex in Munich's English Garden.