Prague, Czech Republic:
A Russian courtroom on Friday prolonged the pre-trial detention of US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva — arrested for failing to register as a “foreign agent” — till February 5, her employer stated.
Kurmasheva, who holds each Russian and American citizenship, was working for the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) media outlet when she was detained by regulation enforcement officers within the Russian metropolis of Kazan in October.
“A court in Kazan extended the detention of Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until February 5, 2024,” RFE/RL reported on Friday.
She is the second US journalist to be arrested in Russia this yr amid an intensification of Moscow’s marketing campaign in opposition to the West because it wages warfare in Ukraine.
Earlier this week a courtroom in Moscow prolonged the pre-trial detention of Wall Road Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage expenses.
Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague together with her husband and two youngsters, was charged with failing to register as a “foreign agent.”
Each her and Gershkovich deny the costs in opposition to them.
Kurmasheva faces as much as 5 years in jail if discovered responsible, and her legal professionals and employer have known as for her instant launch.
Russia has used controversial “foreign agents” laws as a part of a sweeping crackdown on impartial media working contained in the nation.
The legal guidelines require organisations and people designated as “foreign agents” — a time period which has Soviet-era spying connotations — to mark all their publications and submit stories on their actions to the Russian authorities.
It additionally requires any Russian residents to self-register in the event that they have interaction in exercise that poses a menace to Russia’s “national security.”
Kurmasheva was arrested in October after initially having her passports confiscated in June when she travelled to Russia for a household emergency.
The Committee to Shield Journalists known as on Wednesday for the US State Division to designate Kurmasheva as “wrongfully detained”, a transfer which might set off extra intensive diplomatic efforts in Washington to safe her launch.
Critics have accused Russia of indiscriminately arresting US passport holders to swap them for Russians jailed in the US.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)