Kurmasheva Alsu Khamidovna

On June 2, 2023, in Kazan, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva of the Tatar-Bashkir Service of Radio Liberty was detained while attempting to leave Russia. Formally, the reason for the detention was "failure to declare second citizenship" - the United States." Both her passports - American and Russian - were confiscated and she was fined. She went to Russia on May 20 due to an urgent family need." While waiting for the return of her documents, she was forced to remain in Russia. In October, Kurmasheva was charged with 'failure to provide documents for inclusion in the foreign agents registry.' The investigation also believes that she was collecting information about Russia's military activities that could be used against the country's security. On October 23, 2023, the Sovetsky District Court of Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, sent the journalist to a pre-trial detention center. In December 2023, another criminal case was opened against Kurmasheva - under the article on 'fakes' about the Russian army. The reason was a book by a journalist, which she released in November 2022. It contains 40 stories of Russians who are speaking out against the war in Ukraine. July 19, 2024, the Supreme Court of Tatarstan found Alsou Kurmasheva guilty and sentenced her to 6.5 years in a general regime colony. On August 1, 2024, Alsou Kurmasheva was released as part of a prisoner exchange between the USA and Russia.