(NEW YORK, NY) — PEN America strongly condemns the sentencing by a Russian court of Alsu Kurmasheva to 6.5 years in prison. A Prague-based book editor and a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Kurmasheva was convicted of “spreading false information” about the Russian military.
“We condemn the sentencing of Alsu Kurmasheva for the basic act of exercising her right to free speech which is rapidly becoming criminalized in Putin’s Russia,” said Polina Sadovskaya, advocacy and Eurasia director at PEN America. “Kurmasheva was targeted for her courageous and honest coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Her sentencing, following a speedy and closed-door trial, is just the latest of Russia’s ongoing assaults against free expression, which clearly poses a great threat to Putin’s authoritarianism. We call on the U.S. government to do everything in its power to facilitate the immediate release of Kurmasheva so that she can return home to her children and family.”
In October 2023, Kurmasheva was wrongfully detained in Russia for failing to register as a “foreign agent.” Established in 2012, Russia’s foreign agents law initially targeted non-governmental organizations involved in “political activities” and receiving foreign funds. It has since been expanded several times, including shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine when it was extended to include anyone working “under foreign influence.” Kurmasheva’s detention was continually extended to June 2024, and she was repeatedly denied pretrial measures.
Kurmasheva’s work represented a counter narrative to the “United Russia” promoted by the Putin regime. Her reporting on the problems of national minorities in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, and her dedication to preserving the Tatar language and culture, attracted negative attention from the Russian authorities. According to her husband Pavel Butorin, Kurmasheva’s role as editor of the book, “No to War,” a collection of stories by forty Russian opponents of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, was a primary reason for her arrest. Kurmasheva’s dual Russian – U.S. citizenship may also have factored in her arrest.
Kurmasheva’s sentence was announced on the same day that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been held since March 2023, received a 16-years sentence in a penal colony on charges of “espionage.” Following last week’s in-absentia sentencing of Masha Gessen, it is the third harsh sentence issued by Russia against writers and journalists. It is believed that as a result of her dual citizenship, Kurmasheva may eventually be part of a prisoner swap that could also include Gershkovich.
The Committee to Protect Journalists recorded 22 journalists jailed in Russia at the end of 2023. According to PEN America’s 2023 Freedom to Write Index, Russia ranks as the world’s sixth-largest jailer of writers (tied with Belarus), with 16 writers behind bars. In 2023, Russia appeared for the first time in the Index’s top ten jailers, highlighting the rising impact of war and conflict on free expression. Eleven out of the 16 writers imprisoned in Russia last year were targeted for their anti-war expressions, including Kurmasheva.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write and recognize the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at PEN.org.
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