The editor of the Tatar-Bashkir service of Radio Liberty (Idel.Realii) Alsu Kurmasheva was recognized as a political prisoner. Previously, she was arrested and charged with failure to report herself as a “foreign agent,” the Human Rights Project “Support for Political Prisoners” reported. Memorial".

The journalist was detained on October 18. She is suspected under Part 3 of Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Failure to fulfill the obligation to submit documents required for inclusion in the register of foreign agents”). According to the Investigative Committee, Kurmasheva had to provide documents to be included in the register of foreign agents. At the same time, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation did not do this on its own initiative.

This is the first criminal case in Russia under this article that has been brought against a journalist. The defendant does not admit her guilt.

Alsou Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague and writes about the problems of ethnic minorities in Russia, flew to the Russian Federation for family reasons on May 20, but on her return flight on June 2 she was detained and fined for failure to declare American citizenship. Both passports - American and Russian - were confiscated from Kurmasheva. While waiting for the documents to be returned, she was forced to remain in Russia until, on October 16, in Kazan, a criminal case was opened against her for not informing herself as a “foreign agent.”

“Kurmasheva is being persecuted because she was engaged in journalistic activities. Her criminal case is a warning to all journalists, especially those who work with foreign media and write about the war,” human rights activists noted.