US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva sentenced to prison in secret trial

A Russian-American journalist has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison by a Russian court after a secret trial.

Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was convicted on Friday for “spreading false information” about the Russian army.

The conviction, held in the city of Kazan, came a few days after Wall Street Journalist reporter Evan Gershkovich was jailed for 16 years over espionage claims.

While the Supreme Court of Tatarstan said on its website Ms Kurmasheva was convicted of “spreading false information” about the military, spokesperson Natalya Loseva said the case was classified as secret and no more details could be shared.

Stephen Capus, president and CEO of RFE/RL, called the trial and conviction a “mockery of justice” and said in a statement: “The only just outcome is for Alsu to be immediately released from prison by her Russian captors.

“It’s beyond time for this American citizen, our dear colleague, to be reunited with her loving family.”

In a report about Ms Kurmasheva’s conviction, RFE/RL also said the charges were a reprisal for her work as a journalist in Prague.

The 47-year-old mother-of-two was arrested in October last year and was charged at first with failing to register as a foreign agent.

She has pleaded not guilty, but authorities later charged her over “false information”. Her detention was extended a total of six times, and she was last seen in court on 31 May.

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Ms Kurmasheva was also briefly stopped at Kazan International Airport in June, where officials confiscated her passports and fined her for failing to register her US passport.

Nine American citizens are known to be detained by Russia, with arrests becoming increasingly common in the wake of the war with Ukraine.

Sky’s Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett previously reported Russia’s conviction of journalists such as Mr Gershkovich has fuelled speculation that Moscow is aiming for a prisoner exchange with the US.