U.S. lawmakers and the United Nations have criticized Russia for arresting a second American journalist.
Statements issued by the U.N. and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer came Thursday after Russia detained a journalist who works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Alsu Kurmasheva, who holds dual American Russian citizenship and is an editor for RFE/RL, was accused of failing to register as a foreign agent.
The journalist, who traveled to Russia in May for a family emergency, was briefly detained in June at an airport and her passports were confiscated.
She was arrested Wednesday, and if convicted she could face up to five years in prison.
Russia designated the U.S. Congress-funded RFE/RL a foreign agent in 2020.
The independent network refused to comply with the rider, saying it would be an invasion of its editorial processes and would limit the ability of the network to work.
Kurmasheva “needs to be released so she can return to her family immediately,” VOA’s sister outlet RFE/RL said in a statement.
Amanda Bennett, chief executive of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which supervises RFE/RL, said in a statement, “Kurmasheva is a distinguished journalist and a beloved member of her community. Her detention is categorically unjust and she should be released immediately.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders also condemned the detention.
“CPJ is deeply concerned by the detention of U.S.-Russia journalist Alsu Kurmasheva on spurious criminal charges and calls on Russian authorities to release her immediately and drop all charges against her,” Gulnoza Said, who covers Russia at the CPJ, said in a statement.
“Journalism is not a crime and Kurmasheva’s detention is yet more proof that Russia is determined to stifle independent reporting,” Said added.
“Alsu Kurmasheva is now the second American journalist in less than a year to become a casualty of Russia’s international blackmail campaign,” Clayton Weimers, head of the U.S. bureau of Reporters Without Borders, told VOA in a statement.
“RSF condemns her wrongful detention in the strongest possible terms,” he added.
Russia’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment
Kurmasheva is the second American journalist detained by Russia. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been in custody in Moscow since March.
U.S. ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy met with Gershkovich on Tuesday one week after a court denied latest appeal to release him.
In a statement, the U.S. embassy said Gershkovich “remains in good spirits despite his challenging circumstances” and said the U.S. continues to call for his release.
Speaking Thursday on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Schumer, the majority leader, condemned the detention of the two American journalists and demanded they be released immediately.
“It’s no secret that Russia has a long and disturbing history of unjustly detaining U.S. citizens, especially members of the free press” Schumer said.
In a statement posted to X, the U.N. Human Rights Office expressed concern about Kurmasheva’s arrest and said “journalists must be left to do their vital work free from pressure, intimidation and reprisals.”
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