Detention of Radio Free Europe journalist in Russia extended
The US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was arrested in Russia, remains in custody. On Friday, a court in the city of Kazan extended the pre-trial detention of the employee of the US-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) until February 5.
This was reported by a Reuters employee from the courtroom. Kurmasheva is accused of not having registered as a "foreign agent" when she entered Russia in May. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison. In Russia, "foreign agents" are people who, according to the local authorities, are politically active with financial support from abroad.
According to her broadcaster, Kurmasheva, who is based in Prague, had traveled to Russia on 20 May due to a family emergency. When she wanted to leave the country again on June 2 and was waiting for her return flight at Kazan airport, the 47-year-old's two passports were confiscated. According to Russian court documents, Kurmasheva was fined on October 11 for allegedly not registering her US passport with the authorities. On October 18, she was charged with failing to register as a "foreign agent".
It was only on Tuesday that a Moscow court once again extended the pre-trial detention of US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is accused of espionage. It is now valid for a further two months until January 30. Gershkovich was arrested by the FSB domestic intelligence service in Yekaterinburg in the Urals on March 29.
According to the allegations, the reporter for the "Wall Street Journal" is said to have collected state secrets about a military-industrial complex. His detention was only extended by three months in August. Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison. He denies the allegations.
Despite the extension, Kurmasheva's pre-trial detention will end on February 5 if no further extensions are granted.
This prolonged detention comes just over two months before Russia's deadline for foreign agents to register, which falls in February.
Source: www.ntv.de
