Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist for RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, was honored with the International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in a ceremony held in New York on November 21.
Kurmasheva, who was recently released from detention in Russia after spending 288 days in custody, thanked the CPJ for its efforts toward gaining her freedom.
"Journalism is not a crime," she said, noting that more than 20 journalists are currently imprisoned in Russia.
Kurmasheva added that she was dedicating the award to her colleagues still imprisoned, including RFE/RL journalists Ihar Losik and Andrey Kuznechyk in Belarus, Vladislav Yesypenko in Crimea, and Farid Mehralizada in Azerbaijan.
"My colleagues are not just statistics; like me they are real human beings with families who miss and love them. There are dozens of other journalists in Russian prisons. They should be released at once," Kurmasheva stressed.
Other recipients of the award this year included Palestinian journalist Shorouq al-Aila, Guatemalan journalist Kimi de Leon, and Nigerien investigative journalist Samira Sabou, all recognized for their courage in the face of persecution.
Detained by authorities in June 2023 as she was visiting relatives in the central Russian city of Kazan, Kurmasheva was initially charged with not declaring her U.S. passport. She was released but barred from leaving the country.
That October, however, she was arrested, jailed, and charged with being an undeclared "foreign agent" -- under a draconian law targeting journalists, civil society activists, and others.
She was later hit with an additional charge: distributing what the government claims is false information about the Russian military, a charge stemming from her work editing a book about Russians opposed to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. RFE/RL, as well as the U.S. government, called the charges absurd.
SEE ALSO: Long Showers. Clean Drinking Water. Long Hugs. Avocados: Alsu Kurmasheva Adjusts To Freedom After Russian PrisonThe prisoner exchange that came to fruition on August 1 included 24 people in all -- including Kurmasheva, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerskovich, and Russian political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza -- in a complex, seven-country deal.