‘PEN International utterly condemns the sentencing of journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to a lengthy prison term following a trial held in secret. Her conviction is yet another cruel example of the Russian authorities’ relentless crackdown on independent media and voices. Kurmasheva has already spent over nine months behind bars and repeatedly denied contact with her family. She must be freed and reunited with her loved ones immediately.’ Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee.

23 July 2024 – The Russian authorities must release Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva immediately and unconditionally, PEN International said today, after reports emerged she had been sentenced to six-and-a-half-years in prison on alleged charges of ‘spreading false information’ about the Russian military. PEN International once again urges the Russian authorities to end their ever-growing onslaught on freedom of expression and independent media.

On 22 July, the Associated Press reported that Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Tatar-Bashkir Service, had been convicted on 16 July of ‘spreading false information’ about the Russian military following a trial held behind closed doors in Kazan, Tatarstan, a republic of the Russian Federation. Kurmasheva reportedly received a six-and-a-half-year prison term. Her conviction came on the same day that Evan Gershkovich, a US reporter working with the Wall Street Journal, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Yekaterinburg on bogus charges of espionage.

Alsu Kurmasheva’s sentencing came in the wake of a sustained crackdown on dissent in the Russian Federation, with anyone brave enough to pursue independent journalism or speak out against the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine at high risk of unfair detention, prosecution and imprisonment. On 15 July, Russian-America writer and PEN America member Masha Gessen, was notably sentenced in absentia by a Moscow court to eight years in prison for ‘spreading false information’ about the Russian military. Gessen had spoken about war crimes committed by Russian forces in Bucha.

Detained since 18 October 2023 on charges of failing to register and declare herself as a ‘Foreign Agent’, Alsu Kurmasheva was further charged in December with ‘spreading false information’ about the Russian military after being accused of taking part in the distribution of Saying No To War. 40 Stories of Russians Who Oppose the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, a book published in November 2022 by RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service. Kurmasheva denied all charges. The status of the ‘Foreign Agent’ case, which carries a sentence of up to five years, was unknown at the time of writing. Throughout her detention, Kurmasheva was repeatedly denied access to consular assistance and deprived of any contact with her family. She also reported receiving minimal medical care.

PEN International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Alsu Kurmasheva and all the writers and other creatives held in the Russian Federation merely for peacefully expressing their views. Pending her release, Kurmasheva must urgently be provided with access to adequate health care and regular communication with her family.

Background information

Alsu Kurmasheva, born on 1 September 1976, is an editor with RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service who has long covered ethnic minority communities in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. She is a dual US and Russian citizen who lives in Prague, Czech Republic, with her husband and two children. She was detained after travelling to the Russian Federation to visit her ailing mother.

In a report published in June 2024, Amnesty International documented how the Russian authorities are systematically denying arbitrarily imprisoned critics contact with their families, in an attempt to further isolate them and inflict suffering on them and their loved ones. Alsu Kurmasheva’s plight features in the report.

Note to Editors:

For further details contact Aurélia Dondo, Head of Europe and Central Asia Region at PEN International: [email protected]