US seeks release of second journalist jailed by Moscow court

Moscow — The US embassy in Moscow on Tuesday called on Russia to free Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American radio journalist, who was jailed last week in what the US funded station said was “a mockery of justice”.

Kurmasheva was jailed for six-and-a-half years by a court in the central city of Kazan in Russia.

A court in the southern city of Kazan disclosed on Monday that it had convicted Kurmasheva of spreading false information about the Russian army in a closed trial on Friday, the same day as another court jailed US reporter Evan Gershkovich for 16 years in a ruling Washington also condemned as unjust.

Kurmasheva, a mother of two, is a Prague-based journalist and has been in custody in her native Russian region of Tatarstan since October 18.

She was initially detained in June while trying to fly out of Russia after visiting her mother and later accused of what first looked like a minor transgression before Russian investigators opened a criminal case accusing her of spreading false information about the Russian military, something she denied.

Kurmasheva’s husband, Pavel Butorin, who also works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), said she had done nothing wrong, but that her trial was related to a book she had edited entitled Saying No to War. 40 Stories of Russians Who Oppose the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

The US embassy in a statement on Tuesday called Kurmasheva “a principled journalist uncompromisingly committed to the truth and objective reporting” and said the court’s jailing of her represented “a sad day for journalism in Russia”.

“We once again call on the Russian authorities to release Alsu and other imprisoned journalists and prisoners of conscience, and to respect the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the constitution of the Russian Federation,” the embassy said.

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin, but it has said in the past it was not following Kurmasheva’s case and that Russia is not conducting a targeted campaign to persecute American citizens.

A US embassy Moscow spokesperson said the embassy was disappointed that Russian authorities had so far not granted it consular access to Kurmasheva and said it would continue to request such access.

‘Sham conviction’

On Friday, Gershkovich was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security penal colony in what his employer, the Wall Street Journal, called “a disgraceful sham conviction”.

Gershkovich, a 32-year-old American who denied any wrongdoing, went on trial in the city of Yekaterinburg last month after being accused of trying to gather sensitive information about a tank factory.

He was the first US journalist accused of spying in Russia since the Cold War, and his arrest in March 2023 prompted many US and other Western correspondents to leave Moscow.

US President Joe Biden said Gershkovich did not commit any crime and has been wrongfully detained.

“We are pushing hard for Evan’s release and will continue to do so,” Biden said in a statement. “Journalism is not a crime.”

Video of Friday’s hearing released by the court showed Gershkovich, dressed in a T-shirt and black trousers, standing in a glass court cage as he listened to the verdict being read in rapid-fire legalese for nearly four minutes.

Asked by the judge if he had any questions, he replied: “Nyet.”

The judge, Andrei Mineyev, said the nearly 16 months Gershkovich had already served since his arrest would count towards the 16-year sentence.

Mineyev ordered the destruction of the reporter’s cellphone and paper notebook. The defence had 15 days to appeal.

Reuters