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A Russian-American journalist working for a US government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, according to her employer.<\/p>\n
Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva is the second US journalist to be detained in Russia this year.<\/p>\n
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested for alleged spying in March.<\/p>\n
Ms Kurmasheva, an editor with RFE\/RL\u2019s Tatar-Bashkir service, is being held in a temporary detention centre, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, citing a Russian state news agency.<\/p>\n
The Tatar-Inform agency posted video showing Ms Kurmasheva being marched into an administrative building accompanied by four men, two of whom held her arms and wore balaclavas.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> Putin issues chilling warning over ‘prolonging agony’ for Ukraine<\/strong><\/p>\n Tatar-Inform said authorities accused Ms Kurmasheva of collecting information about Russia\u2019s military activities \u201cin order to transmit information to foreign sources\u201d, suggesting she received information about university teachers who were mobilised into the Russian army.<\/p>\n The Committee to Protect Journalists said she was charged with failing to register as a foreign agent in her capacity as a person collecting information on Russian military activities.<\/p>\n It cited local authorities saying the information \u201ccould be used against the security of the Russian Federation\u201d.<\/p>\n If convicted, Ms Kurmasheva could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, the New York-based press freedom group said.<\/p>\n \u201cAlsu is a highly respected colleague, devoted wife, and dedicated mother to two children,\u201d Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty Acting President Jeffrey Gedmin said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe needs to be released so she can return to her family immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague with her family, was stopped at Kazan International Airport on June 2 after travelling to Russia for a family emergency on May 20, according to RFE\/RL.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> Officials at the airport confiscated her US and Russian passports and she was later fined for failing to register her US passport with Russian authorities.<\/p>\n She was waiting for her passports to be returned when the new charge of failing to register as a foreign agent was announced on Wednesday, RFE\/RL said.<\/p>\n Ms Kurmasheva reported on ethnic minority communities in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan in Russia, including projects to protect and preserve the Tatar language and culture despite \u201cincreased pressure\u201d on Tatars from Russian authorities, her employer said.<\/p>\n Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips after US-Russian tensions soared when Russia sent troops into Ukraine.<\/p>\n At least two US citizens arrested in Russia in recent years \u2014 including WNBA star Brittney Griner \u2014 have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the US.<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n \u201cJournalism is not a crime, and Kurmasheva\u2019s detention is yet more proof that Russia is determined to stifle independent reporting,\u201d Gulnoza Said, the Committee to Protect Journalists\u2019 Europe and Central Asia program co-ordinator, said.<\/p>\n Ms Kurmasheva\u2019s detention comes seven months after Mr Gershkovich was detained in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,200 miles east of Moscow.<\/p>\n He has appeared in court multiple times since his arrest and unsuccessfully appealed his continued imprisonment.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s Federal Security Service alleged Mr Gershkovich, \u201cacting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex\u201d.<\/p>\n Mr Gershkovich and the Journal deny the allegations and the US government has declared him to be wrongfully detained.<\/p>\n Russian authorities have not detailed any evidence to support the espionage charges.<\/p>\n Court proceedings against him are closed because prosecutors say details of the criminal case are classified.<\/p>\n
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