Kurmasheva is honored with the International Press Freedom Award

2024-11-22 15:52:02, Kosova & Bota CNA

Alsu Kourmasheva, a journalist with the Tatar-Bashkir Service of Radio Free Europe (REL), has been honored with the International Press Freedom Award for 2024 by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at a ceremony held in New York on 21 november

Kurmasheva, who was recently released from prison in Russia after spending 288 days in detention, thanked CPJ for the committee's efforts to secure her release.

"Journalism is not a crime," she said, adding that more than 20 journalists are being held in Russian prisons.

Kurmasheva added that she dedicated the award to her colleagues who are still in prison, including REL journalists Ihar Losik and Andrey Kuznechyk in Belarus, Vladislav Yesypenko in Crimea, and Farid Mehralizada in Azerbaijan.

"My colleagues are not just statistics. Like me, they are human beings and have families who love them and miss them. There are dozens of other journalists in Russian prisons. They should be released immediately," said Kurmasheva.

Palestinian journalist Shorouq al-Aila, Guatemalan journalist Kimi de Leon, and Nigerian investigative journalist Samira Sabou also won this year's award, who were honored for their courage in the face of persecution.

Kurmasheva, with Russian and American citizenship, was detained in June 2023 while waiting to return to Prague from Kazan. The authorities confiscated both his passports and his phone. She was released from detention, but was barred from leaving the country.

After five months of waiting for a decision on her case, Kurmasheva was fined $109 for failing to register her American passport with Russian authorities.

Unable to leave Russia, in October Kurmasheva was arrested, sent to prison and accused of failing to declare herself a "foreign agent".

Two months later, she was charged with spreading fake news about the Russian military.

In July, a court in Kazan sentenced Kurmasheva to six and a half years in prison.

On August 1, she was released during a prisoner exchange, along with American citizens Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan./ REL