U.S.-Russian reporter sentenced on espionage charges behind closed doors

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporter Alsu Kurmasheva was sentenced in a Russian court on Friday, local media outlet Tatar-Inform reported Monday. She was charged with gathering intelligence about Russia’s military while acting as an unregistered foreign agent in late 2022, according to a report from the Kremlin-run media outlet RT last year. She was sentenced to 6½ years behind bars.

What does her family have to say? Kurmasheva’s husband, Pavel Butorin, issued a social media statement on Monday calling for the Russian government to release her. “My daughters and I know Alsu has done nothing wrong,” he said. “And the world knows it too.”

What does Russia have to say? The Kremlin late last year denied carrying out a campaign to crack down on U.S. citizens in Russia. But U.S. citizens who violate the law in Russia face penalties for doing so, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian state media outlet TASS.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Muncy’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast from last year about Kurmasheva’s arrest.