Alsu Kurmasheva
After more than nine months in prison, RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was released as part of a prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia.
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Alsu Kurmasheva is a journalist with RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service who was detained in Kazan, Russia, on October 18, 2023. Alsu holds U.S. and Russian citizenship and lives in Prague, Czech Republic, with her husband and two daughters.
Alsu traveled to Russia on May 20, 2023, to care for her elderly, ailing mother. She was temporarily detained while waiting for her return flight on June 2, 2023. Authorities at Kazan airport confiscated her U.S. and Russian passports, preventing her from leaving the country. She was subsequently fined 10,000 rubles ($103) for failure to register her U.S. passport with Russian authorities. Before she could pay this fine, she was detained again on October 18, 2023, for failing to declare herself a “foreign agent.” On December 11, 2023, Russian authorities launched a third investigation against Alsu for “spreading false information” about Russia’s military.
Following a rapid and secret trial, Kurmasheva was convicted of “spreading false information” about Russia’s military on July 19, 2024, and sentenced to six and a half years in prison.
Alsu’s detention has been condemned by the governments of Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Poland, and Sweden, two dozen U.S. lawmakers, as well as by EU, OSCE, U.S. and UN officials. President Biden called for Alsu’s immediate release at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 27, 2024.
Human rights and press freedom organizations have also condemned Alsu’s politically-motivated detention and called for her immediate release, including Amnesty International, Freedom House, Memorial, PEN America, Reporters Without Borders, the International Federation of Journalists, and the International Press Institute.
RFE/RL joins Alsu’s family and organizations such as the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the National Press Club in calling on the U.S. government to designate her as “wrongfully detained” and mobilize the resources necessary to secure her release. Since Alsu’s detention, 23 civil society organizations and 24 U.S. lawmakers have written to U.S. Secretary of State Blinken to urge him to make this designation.
How You Can Support Alsu
Use this advocacy toolkit to call for Alsu’s release. Share the graphics below to your social media accounts and add the hashtag #FreeAlsu to your posts.
Write to Alsu
In a letter to her supporters in December 2023, Alsu wrote: “Thank you so much for keeping me and my family in your thoughts and prayers. Your messages and support get through the jail bars and warm my heart every day. We have so much ahead — we’ll create, we’ll travel, we’ll learn from each other and educate our children. We’ll do that together!”
RFE/RL encourages supporters to write to Alsu. The UK-based NGO Rights in Russia will translate your letter into Russian and, depending on your preference, mail the translated letter on your behalf or return the letter to you for posting.
Latest Updates
Journalists in Trouble: Alsu Kurmasheva Freed in Historic Prisoner Swap, Reunited with Family
Alsu Kurmasheva freed in historic prisoner swap; RFE/RL president testifies before Congress; Kazakhstan passes new media law; and more.
American RFE/RL Reporter Alsu Kurmasheva Released from Russian Custody
RFE/RL welcomes news of Alsu’s release and is grateful to the American government and all who worked tirelessly to end her unjust treatment by Russia.
Russia Extends American RFE/RL Journalist’s Detention for Sixth Time
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is outraged at today’s ruling in Russia to extend RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva’s pretrial detention for the sixth time.
Journalists in Trouble: President Biden Calls for Alsu Kurmasheva’s Release
President Biden calls for Alsu Kurmasheva’s release; RFE/RL hosts World Press Freedom Day reception with families of imprisoned journalists; and more.
Russia Extends Detention of Alsu Kurmasheva; Her Imprisonment “As Outrageous Today as It Was Six Months Ago”
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) condemns the latest extension of American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva’s pretrial detention.
Journalists in Trouble: Alsu Kurmasheva’s Family Fights for Her in Washington
Alsu Kurmasheva’s family advocates for her; Vladyslav Yesypenko marks three years in detention; Iran’s judiciary targets RFE/RL journalists; and more.
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