The European Union's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, has called on Russia to "immediately release" Alsu Kurmasheva, a veteran journalist of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir Service who has been held in Russia for two months.
"The EU calls on Russian authorities to immediately release journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who faces up to 15 years in prison for carrying out journalistic work," Borrell wrote on social media on December 18.
"Russia's authorities must ensure safety of journalists and their right to freedom of expression and stop prosecuting them," he added.
Kurmasheva -- a Prague, Czech Republic-based journalist with RFE/RL who holds dual U.S. and Russian citizenship -- traveled to Russia in May for a family emergency.
SEE ALSO: 'That's How My Days Are Spent': RFE/RL Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva Writes From JailShe was temporarily detained while waiting for her return flight on June 2 at the airport in the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan, where both of her passports were confiscated. She has not been able to leave Russia since as she awaited the return of her travel documents.
On October 11, a court in Kazan fined Kurmasheva 10,000 rubles ($110) for "failure to inform Russian officials about holding a second citizenship."
Kurmasheva was detained again on October 18 and this time charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The Investigative Committee said at the time that Kurmasheva was being charged under a section of the Criminal Code that refers to the registration of foreign agents who carry out "purposeful collection of information in the field of military, military-technical activities of Russia," which, if received by foreign sources, "can be used against the security of the country."
It gave no further details.
Many critics and rights group say the so-called foreign agent law is used by the Kremlin to crack down on any dissent.
On December 12, Tatar-Inform news agency in Tatarstan and the Baza Telegram channel, both linked to the government, said Kurmasheva is now accused of distributing "fake" news about Russia's armed forces, a charge that comes with a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
Russia's detention of Kurmasheva, the second U.S. media member to be held by Moscow this year, triggered a wave of criticism from rights groups and politicians saying the move signals new level of wartime censorship.
Russia's leading human rights group Memorial recognized Kurmasheva as a political prisoner.
Moscow has been accused of detaining Americans to use as bargaining chips to exchange for Russians jailed in the United States. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested for allegedly spying -- a charge he and the newspaper vehemently deny -- in March.
RFE/RL's jailed journalists (left to right): Alsu Kurmasheva, Ihar Losik, Andrey Kuznechyk, and Vladyslav Yesypenko
Kurmasheva is one of four RFE/RL journalists -- Andrey Kuznechyk, Ihar Losik, and Vladyslav Yesypenko are the other three -- currently imprisoned on charges related to their work. Rights groups and RFE/RL have called repeatedly for the release of all four, saying they have been wrongly detained.
Losik is a blogger and contributor for RFE/RL’s Belarus Service who was convicted in December 2021 on several charges including the “organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order” and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Kuznechyk, a web editor for RFE/RL’s Belarus Service, was sentenced in June 2022 to six years in prison following a trial that lasted no more than a few hours. He was convicted of “creating or participating in an extremist organization.”
Yesypenko, a dual Ukrainian-Russian citizen who contributed to Crimea.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, was sentenced in February 2022 to six years in prison by a Russian judge in occupied Crimea after a closed-door trial. He was convicted of “possession and transport of explosives,” a charge he steadfastly denies.