Russia: CFWIJ and 13 Other Press Freedom Groups Urge U.S. Action on Detained Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva

CFWIJ, Women Press Freedom, and the other signees raise concern about the lack of formal notification to the State Department about her detention, a seeming strategic delay by Russia restricting Kurmasheva's access to regular consular support.

Location: United States, Washington, D.C.
Date: November 29, 2023

In a concerted effort to address the plight of detained journalists in Russia, The Coalition For Women In Journalism and Women Press Freedom join fourteen leading press freedom and First Amendment organizations to call upon U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for decisive action. The coalition, led by the National Press Club and the NPC Journalism Institute, is pressing for the immediate declaration that the Russian government has wrongfully detained RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.

Alsu Kurmasheva, who has been held in a detention center in Kazan for over a month, faces charges related to failing to self-register as a ‘foreign agent.’ The letter, also signed by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, raises alarms over the absence of official notification to the State Department regarding her detention. This omission seems to be a deliberate stalling tactic by Russia, severely impacting Kurmasheva's access to regular consular visits.

You can read the letter below:

November 28, 2023 

Secretary Antony Blinken U.S. Secretary of State Department of State Washington, DC 

Dear Secretary Blinken: 

We the undersigned are calling on you to expedite the process to immediately declare that U.S. citizen and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva has been wrongfully detained by Russia. 

Alsu has already been held in a detention center in Kazan for more than a month now and charged with failure to self-register as a "foreign agent." Our understanding is that Russia has not officially notified the State Department of her detention - however, the U.S. should not delay its own process due to what appears to be a stalling tactic. We are deeply concerned this has resulted in Alsu not receiving any regular consular visits yet. 

The facts of this case are not in dispute. Alsu traveled to Russia in May to attend to her ailing mother. As a U.S. and Russian national, she was admitted under her Russian passport. This was not a work trip, so Alsu did not declare she works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She was denied exit in June and placed in detention in October. 

Alsu was barred from leaving just two months after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained. We are concerned this is part of a growing pattern of the Russian government attempting to silence journalism through detention. 

We also reiterate our call to change current outmoded requirements on designating wrongful detentions, so that the State Department has the authority to quickly declare a detention is unjust when a journalist is taken. Without this change, the department allows an entity to have several weeks (or months) of uncontested opportunity to smear the reputation of the journalist and their employer. 

We must push back immediately at what this is - a brazen attempt to silence and punish journalists. We can and must do better. 

Sincerely, 

The National Press Club 

The National Press Club Journalism Institute 

The Radio Television Digital News Association 

Freedom of the Press Foundation 

Women Press Freedom 

Coalition For Women In Journalism 

Reporters Without Borders 

Journalism & Women Symposium 

The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation 

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press 

Committee to Protect Journalists 

National Scholastic Press Association 

Associated Collegiate Press 

Quill and Scroll 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

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