CPJ is honored to present its 2024 International Press Freedom Award to U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, is a journalist and editor at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). She first joined the outlet in 1998 as a radio program moderator.
Throughout her career, Kurmasheva has covered cultural and human rights issues affecting ethnic minority communities in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan in the Volga-Ural region of Russia. In addition, she has also reported extensively on gender issues, leading reporting projects on domestic violence, and women’s human rights.
In October 2023, Kurmasheva was detained in Russia on charges of failing to register as a “foreign agent.” In December 2023, she was also charged with disseminating “false” information about the Russian military stemming from her alleged involvement in the distribution of a book based on stories from residents in Russia’s southwestern Volga region who oppose the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kurmasheva was held for more than nine months before she was convicted on charges of spreading “fake” news about the Russian army and sentenced to 6½ years in prison. In August 2024, Kurmasheva was released as part of a prisoner exchange, which included the release of fellow American journalist Evan Gershkovich.
Kurmasheva’s conviction by Russian authorities on spurious charges was in retaliation for her journalism. Her case is representative of Russia’s continued attacks on the press in an effort to stifle independent reporting, both within its borders and through transnational repression. Kurmasheva’s case demonstrates how Russian authorities weaponize the law to silence its critics, most notably journalists critical of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Although Kurmasheva’s release is a welcome development for her family, colleagues, and press freedom advocates worldwide, Russia continues its efforts to suppress a free press. Kurmasheva’s plight underscores why Moscow must release all jailed journalists and end its campaign of using in absentia arrest warrants and sentences against exiled Russian journalists.