A Russia court extended the detention of Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva on Friday as she awaits trial for failing to register as a “foreign agent”.
The court in the city of Kazan prolonged her detention until Feb. 5. No date has been set for the trial.
Kurmasheva is a Prague-based journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), which is funded by the US Congress and designated by Russia as a foreign agent, meaning it gets foreign funding for activity deemed to be political.
In a statement, RFE/RL acting president Jeffrey Gedmin said: “Alsu has spent 45 days behind bars in Russia and, today, her unjust, politically motivated detention has been extended.
Kurmasheva holds both US and Russian passports, and entered Russia on May 20 to deal with a family emergency, RFE/RL said. As she awaited her return flight on June 2, she was detained and her passports were confiscated.
According to court documents, Kurmasheva was fined 10,000 roubles ($103) on Oct. 11 for failing to register her US passport with Russian authorities. She was charged a week later with failure to register as a foreign agent, an offence that carries up to five years in prison.
