KAZAN, Russia -- Activists who earlier this month protested Moscow's crackdown on independent journalists, including Alsu Kurmasheva, a veteran journalist of RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service who has been held in Russian custody since October 18, have been charged with violating public gatherings regulations.
Darina Luntsova, who organized the December 10 rally in Kazan, capital of the Tatarstan region, was on December 18 summoned to the police, where investigators officially charged her with "administrative misdemeanor."
Activist Iskander Yasaveyev, who during the rally held a placard reading "Alsu Kurmasheva is a journalist, not a criminal" was also charged. If found guilty, the activists may face fines or weeks in jail.
On December 18, the European Union's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, reiterated Brussels' previous calls urging Russia to "immediately release" Kurmasheva.
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.
She was temporarily detained while waiting for her return flight on June 2 at the airport in 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 war-time 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 in March for allegedly spying -- a charge he and the newspaper vehemently deny.