recognize Alsa Kurmasheva as “unlawfully detained”

The human rights organization Reporters Without Borders, the Coalition of Women in Journalism, the National Press Club, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists and 12 other organizations appealed to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to “speed up the process and immediately announce” the journalist of the Tatar-Bashkir service of Radio Liberty Also Kurmasheva “unlawfully detained”. This is reported by Idel.realii.

Kurmasheva, who has US and Russian citizenship, has been in a pre-trial detention center in Kazan since the end of October on charges of violating the law on “foreign agents”.

“As far as we understand, Russia has not officially notified the State Department about her detention, but the United States should not hesitate to take the necessary steps despite the likely tactics of delaying the case [Россией]. We are deeply concerned that, as a result of this delay, Alsou still cannot receive consular support from the United States,” the appeal said.

Executive Director of the American branch of Reporters Without Borders Clayton Weimers said that “Alsu Kurmasheva is a victim of Moscow’s war with journalism and its geopolitical disputes with the United States.”

— The Kremlin must immediately release her and drop these ridiculous charges, but until that day comes, the State Department must declare her unlawfully detained. As an American journalist persecuted for her work, Kurmasheva deserves no less than the full power of her government, which is working on her liberation, Weimers emphasized.

Recognizing a citizen as “unlawfully detained” means that the US authorities will officially seek his release from the authorities of the relevant foreign state.

• Alsou Kurmasheva is a journalist of the Tatar-Bashkir Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty since the late 1990s. For a long time, she covers the issues of culture and rights of ethnic groups in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. She talked about initiatives to protect the Tatar language and culture from pressure from the Russian authorities, which has noticeably increased in recent years.
• Also has US and Russian citizenship. Before her arrest, she lived in Prague with her husband and children. In the middle of May, she came to her native city of Kazan due to family circumstances. On June 2, Alsa was detained at the Kazan airport – before her flight home. Her American and Russian passports were confiscated. A few days later, a criminal case was opened against the journalist for failure to notify her of her second citizenship. The investigation of this case dragged on for several months. Only in October, the Magistrate’s Court in Kazan found her guilty and fined her 10,000 rubles. Soon after that, she was detained in a new criminal case.
• After Alsu’s detention, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Acting President Geoffrey Gedmin said he was “deeply disappointed” by the court’s decision: “We call for the immediate release of Alsu so that she can be reunited with her family.”
• Also’s detention was condemned by the US authorities and the government Canada, the Czech RepublicFrance, of Poland and Swedenas well as The Supreme Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policychapter of the European Parliament, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on issues of media freedom and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The platform of the Council of Europe to promote the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists published a call to free Alsa.