Russian court sentences U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to 6.5 years in prison

Cover photo: Alsu Kurmasheva on trial in Kazan, Russia. Source: AP Photo

The Supreme Court of Tatarstan has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist for Idel.Realii, the regional news outlet of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Tatar-Bashkir Service, to 6.5 years in prison for “spreading false information” about the Russian army, according to an Associated Press report citing court records.

The sentence was handed down on Friday — the same day that Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich, also a U.S. citizen, was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges.

In both cases, the Russian government has failed to publicly demonstrate convincing evidence indicating the guilt of the American citizens in question.

Kurmasheva's case was heard behind closed doors. Mediazona learned about the fact that it came to court last week. This means that it took only a few days for the court to consider it.

Kurmasheva holds U.S. citizenship and was a permanent resident of Prague. She came to Russia for family matters.

On July 19, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Yekaterinburg sentenced U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in a penal colony for espionage. The journalist pleaded not guilty to the charges. The U.S. government, the WSJ, and Gershkovich’s supporters have all denounced the case and the charges against the reporter as a sham.

The U.S. State Department has declared the 32-year-old journalist wrongfully detained, which commits the U.S. government to seek his release.

Gershkovich's trial took less than a month. The court’s haste may indicate that an exchange is being prepared, a lawyer for the Perviy Otdel human rights group, Yevgeny Smirnov, said in a comment to the independent investigative publication Important Stories.