Russia's Investigative Committee on October 26 specified the charge against RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who is being held in pretrial detention after her arrest on suspicion of failing to register as a foreign agent.
The Investigative Committee announced that Kurmasheva has been 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,” RFE/RL's Russian Service reported.
The Investigative Committee said its investigation found that the Russian Justice Ministry did not add her to the list of foreign agents and that she failed to provide documents to be included on the registry.
Kurmasheva denies the charge.
Kurmasheva, a Prague-based journalist with RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service who holds dual U.S. and Russian citizenship, traveled to Russia for a family emergency in May.
She was temporarily detained on June 2 while waiting for her return flight at Kazan airport, where both of her passports were confiscated.
Authorities on October 11 fined Kurmasheva 10,000 rubles ($103) for failing to register her U.S. passport with Russian authorities, according to local media reports based on court documents.
Kurmasheva was detained again on October 18 on suspicion of failing to register as a foreign agent, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. A Russian court on October 23 ordered her held in pretrial detention until December 5.
Russia's detention of Kurmasheva triggered a wave of criticism from rights groups and politicians who said the move signals a new level of war-time censorship.
RFE/RL acting President Jeffrey Gedmin responded to the outcome of the October 23 hearing by saying he was “deeply disappointed” and called for Kurmasheva’s immediate release.
The U.S. State Department has also expressed concern about the journalist and her detention and requested consular access.
Russia has been accused of detaining Americans to use as bargaining chips to exchange for Russians jailed in the United States. Another U.S. journalist, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, has been jailed since March for allegedly spying -- a charge he and the newspaper vehemently deny.