Despite the urgency of Alsu's situation, her case lacks the designation of "wrongfully detained" — a status that was promptly granted to Evan Gershkovich, catalyzing significant international advocacy and government action on his behalf

By: Máire Rowland, Research Coordinator Women Press Freedom, an initiative by the Coalition For Women In Journalism

Date: May 3, 2024

The conditions are grim — no hot water, cramped quarters, and minimal medical care. From her small, 5-meter cell shared with someone else, where the toilet is merely a hole in the ground, Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and journalist behind bars in Russia, faces an ordeal that is as much about surviving the day-to-day as it is about the geopolitical chess game her life has become.

In April, Alsu’s family heard her voice for the first time in six months. The Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty editor was detained by Russian authorities in October 2023 while she was visiting her ailing mother in Kazan, a city in southwest Russia. Her husband and children had stayed home in Prague, Czechia.

From behind a glass box in a Kazan courtroom, Alsu managed to speak. The journalist, known for her reporting on minorities in Russia, looked pale and thin; her health deteriorating. The court ruled to extend her detention for another three months.

Accused first of administrative lapses at Kazan airport in June 2023, the Kremlin later threw Alsu behind bars for “failing” to register as a "foreign agent." She is now facing further charges for "discrediting" the Russian army, reportedly relating to a book she edited. The journalist faces up to fifteen years in prison if convicted. These accusations are about stifling dissent and punishing Alsu for her profession; they have nothing to do with upholding justice.

Evan Gershkovich, another American journalist, faces a similar wrongful detention on espionage charges. Evan, who works with the Wall Street Journal, has spent a year behind bars with no sign of his release. Both journalists appear to be detained by Russia to be used as bargaining chips in diplomatic games. As relations between the United States and Russia are at their lowest point since the Cold War, putting American citizens behind bars is a cynical ploy to force the US and the West to exchange prisoners of Russian interest abroad.

There are currently six US citizens behind bars in Russia. Washington faces a moral quandary: negotiate and potentially set a precedent that motivates the Kremlin to capture and unjustly detain Americans or leave its citizens imprisoned. 

Alsu’s situation is clearly unjust and yet the U.S. government is hesitating to label her as  "wrongfully detained" — a designation critical for galvanizing resources and diplomatic pressure to secure her release. Without it, Kurmasheva's prospects for freedom grow dimmer. This inaction stands in stark contrast to the government’s swift response to Gershkovich detention.

Despite pleas from her husband Pavel Butorin, her daughters Miriam and Bibi, Women Press Freedom, the Coalition For Women In Journalism, and other press freedom organizations worldwide, the State Department has yet to officially recognize Kurmasheva's plight.

Russia’s War on the Press

Journalists working in Russia have always faced challenges, but independent reporting has become next-to-impossible since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Military censorship laws enacted have made truthful reporting on the conflict a criminal offense. Journalists are routinely detained and are increasingly facing lengthy imprisonments for reporting on Russian army atrocities in Ukraine. There are currently nine women journalists behind bars. 

The aggressive clampdown has seen a mass exodus of press workers from the country. Most independent Russian outlets are now operating in exile; its journalists remain targets abroad. Exiled journalists have faced assassination attempts, international arrest warrants, and sentencing in absentia. 

There have also been increased restrictions on foreign reporters working in Russia. Correspondents have been denied visas or accreditation and forced to leave the country. Some report harassment from security services, warning them not to cover anti-war demonstrations. Moscow has also taken umbrage with foreign journalists abroad criticizing its policies by placing their names on a blacklist, barring them from Russia. 

The Kremlin’s war on the press shows no sign of abating, and cases like that of Alsu and Evan show the extreme lengths Putin and his cronies will go to attack the press by using journalists as pawns in its war.

“No one is with me; it's frightening,” Alsu says, seizing a brief moment to draw attention to her plight from the courtroom in Kazan.

The United States and the global community must ramp up pressure on Russia to release Alsu and others in similar situations. The term "wrongfully detained" isn't just symbolic; it can make a real difference in diplomatic efforts to free detained US citizens. By not applying this designation to Alsu, the U.S. government is effectively reducing the chances of her return to safety, her family, and her freedom.