An American journalist was arrested in Russia for not declaring herself a 'foreign agent'

The editor of the Tatar-Bashkir service of Radio Liberty, Alsa Kurmasheva, was arrested in Kazan. This is the first criminal case in Russia for violating the law, according to which any person who collects unclassified information on military topics is obliged to declare himself a “foreign agent,” reports with the BBC.

Photo: IStock

The journalist faces up to five years in prison.

On October 23, the Sovetsky District Court of Kazan arrested Kurmasheva until December 5. The prosecutor asked to send her into custody.
On October 20, the court did not arrest the journalist; investigators asked to extend her detention by 72 hours. At the request of the investigation, it was decided to hold the court hearing regarding the suppression process behind closed doors.

On the subject: The US wants to confiscate a $300 million superyacht from a Russian billionaire and give the money to Ukraine

Kurmasheva was detained on October 18. She is suspected of failure to comply with the Russian law on “foreign agents.” It obliges everyone who is engaged in the “targeted collection” of non-secret information about Russia’s military and military-technical activities to notify the Ministry of Justice in advance so that they can be included in the register of “foreign agents.”

Violation of the requirement to report oneself has been considered a criminal offense under Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for almost three years. Journalists, human rights activists and ordinary people can be persecuted under it, including those who collected information on military topics while abroad. But until now, not a single criminal case has been filed under this article.

“The fact that for the first time it was brought specifically against a journalist confirms that the criminal article itself is, in fact, an indirect ban on the collection of any information related to military topics, even not confidential and not related to state secrets,” said the leading media lawyer of the Defense Center media rights Galina Arapova - she and the Center are also declared “foreign agents” in Russia.

What is known about Kurmasheva and her case

Kurmasheva is a citizen of the United States and Russia. On May 20, for family reasons, she came to Russia from Prague, where she lives with her husband and children.

A press release from the media corporation states that the journalist was planning to fly back to Prague on June 2, but was detained at the airport.
Her Russian and American passports were confiscated and she was fined for violating the requirement to register American citizenship in Russia.

Like the article? Support ForumDaily!?

By law, if a Russian lives abroad, he is obliged to notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs about his second citizenship within a month after his first entry into Russia. For violation of these requirements, he may be brought to administrative or criminal liability (under Article 19.8.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses or Article 330.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The second option provides for a larger fine - up to the amount of annual income or compulsory work.
The security forces opened a criminal case against Kurmasheva under Article 330.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for failure to fulfill the obligation to submit a notification of second citizenship. The verdict was handed down on October 11 by Magistrate Airat Safin. The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed within 15 days. This means that the journalist’s passports were confiscated as evidence; she could not return them before the verdict came into force. Which did not allow her to leave Russia.

Kurmasheva was waiting for her passports to be returned, but on October 18 she was detained again in Kazan - now on a new case - the journalist is suspected of failure to fulfill another obligation provided for by Russian law - to register with the Ministry of Justice as a “foreign agent”. The case was initiated under Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which implies up to five years in prison.

The Investigative Committee opened the case, and the journalist has been in the temporary detention center for two days. No later than 48 hours from the moment of detention - that is, on Friday, October 27, the court must choose a preventive measure for her.

It is not known what information Kurmasheva is charged with collecting.

She has long covered the problems of national minorities in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan in the Volga-Ural region of Russia. The journalist talked about civil initiatives to protect and preserve the Tatar language and culture against the backdrop of increasing pressure on their speakers in recent years.

RFE/RL's acting president Jeffrey Gedmin called for her release "so she can immediately return to her family."

The United States expects to gain consular access to the arrested woman as soon as possible, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

“We are seriously concerned about the detention of Alsou Kurmasheva pending trial. We have already requested consular access, but it has not yet been granted. We have requested more information from the Russian side on her situation; we do not yet have any specific details about the case against her,” Miller said during briefing. He emphasized that the American Embassy in Moscow is now continuing work to obtain consular access to the journalist.

Prohibition on collecting information

Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (evasion of duties provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation on foreign agents) appeared in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in 2020.

Initially, it concerned those who collect information on military and military-technical topics only on Russian territory. But at the end of 2022, against the backdrop of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the mass emigration of Russians, the article was expanded to include those who are abroad.

According to the Russian law on “foreign agents”, any person, regardless of citizenship and profession, must register with the Russian Ministry of Justice as a “foreign agent” if he conducts “purposeful collection of information in the field of military, military-technical activities of the Russian Federation”, which are foreigners, foreign states and organizations, as well as Russians and Russian legal entities associated with them or under their “influence” can receive and use them against the security of Russia.

Information that does not belong to state secrets, but which cannot be collected even on the Internet or the media without voluntarily classifying oneself as a “foreign agent”, is listed in the FSB order, it contains more than 60 points - including information about the deployment and movement of troops, and also about mobilization.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read all this on ForumDaily New York.

The status of “foreign agent” is also given for information “about the observance of the law and the moral and psychological climate in the troops,” as well as “about the progress and results of consideration of reports of crimes and preliminary investigations” conducted by the FSB and military investigative bodies. According to the FSB, Russia’s security may also be threatened by the collection of open data on the procurement of goods, works, and services “for the needs of the troops,” including information about suppliers.

“In essence, Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code is an indirect ban on the collection of any information related to military topics, even non-confidential and not related to state secrets,” Arapova said.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Advance Parole for leaving the USA will now be issued for 5 years: what you need to know

A Georgia woman returned from vacation to find her home had been demolished.

A terrible accident in California: 4 students died

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.