PRAGUE — The husband of detained U.S. journalist Alsu Kurmasheva says his wife is a “political prisoner” and he called on the United States to classify her as “wrongfully detained” as she remains behind bars in Russia on a charge of failing to register as a foreign agent.
In his first public comments since Kurmasheva was taken into custody by Russian security forces on October 18, Pavel Butorin, who like his wife works from the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty offices in Prague, said Russian authorities have yet to grant consular access, a violation of her rights, in a case where she faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Kurmasheva holds both Russian and U.S. citizenship.
“We’re already very grateful for the support that we are receiving, but what we need to happen is for Alsu to be designated as a wrongfully detained person. This is a very important designation, the kind that comes from the United States government and from the State Department and we are certain that this designation will speed up her release,” Butorin said from the Czech capital, where he is head of Current Time, a Russian-language TV and digital network led by RFE/RL in partnership with Voice of America.
“There is nothing we want to happen more than to get Alsu back. My children need her, I need my wife back,” he added.
Kurmasheva, a veteran journalist who has worked for RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service for some 25 years, left Prague in mid-May to attend to a family emergency in her native Tatarstan, one of Russia’s many republics.
She was temporarily detained while waiting for her return flight on June 2 at the Kazan airport, where both of her passports and phone were confiscated.
After five months waiting for a decision in what Butorin called a “ridiculous case,” Kurmasheva was fined 10,000 rubles ($103) for failing to register her U.S. passport with the Russian authorities.
While waiting for the return of her passports, Kurmasheva was detained again on October 18 and this time…
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