Moscow jails Russian-American journalist Kurmasheva for over six years
World
Moscow jails Russian-American journalist Kurmasheva for over six years
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), to 6-1/2 years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian army, the court revealed on Monday.
A spokesperson for the court in the southern city of Kazan said Kurmasheva had been sentenced on Friday following two days of court proceedings. Her lawyer did not immediately reply to a Reuters question about whether she would appeal and the U.S. embassy did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Friday was also the day a separate court in Yekaterinburg sentenced another U.S. citizen, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, to 16 years in prison for espionage, following a three-day trial held behind closed doors. His newspaper and the United States have called the trial a sham, and Washington says it is working to secure his release.
RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus called Kurmasheva's trial and conviction "a mockery of justice".
"The only just outcome is for Alsu to be immediately released from prison by her Russian captors," Capus said in a statement. "It's beyond time for this American citizen, our dear colleague, to be reunited with her loving family."
Kurmasheva, 47, is based in Prague and has been held since Oct. 18 when she was arrested while visiting family in her native Russian region of Tatarstan. She had first been detained briefly earlier last year while trying to leave Russia, and her passports were confiscated.
