[Tee tiong huat]

A Russian court, (Mon) extended pre-trial detention of US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who faces 15 years in prison on charges of spreading “false info,” her employer said. Kurmasheva smiled but complained about the poor state of the cell where she was being held, AFP reporter said. She is journalist at US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was arrested last year for failing to register as a “foreign agent”.

RFE/RL says she was subsequently charged with spreading false info under new censorship laws following Russia’s offensive on Ukraine in 2022. Her pre-trial detention now is extended until 5 June. In 2022, Kurmasheva edited a book titled, “No to War” – a collection of interviews stories from Russians opposed to Moscow’s campaign against Ukraine.

RFE/RL on Monday called her imprisonment “outrageous” and said she had been locked up “simply because she holds an American passport.”
“The charges against Alsu are baseless. It’s not a legal process, it’s a political ploy, and Alsu and her family are unjustifiably paying a terrible price,” RFE/RL head Stephen Capus said.

Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague with her husband &  2-children, had her US and Russian passports confiscated last June after travelling to Russia for a family emergency. She was then arrested for failing to register as a “foreign agent” in October while awaiting the return of her passports.

Rights groups have accused Russia of using oppressive legislation to target regime critics and independent journalists.

Kurmasheva is 2nd US journalist to be arrested in Russia. That charge carries up to 5-yrs in prison while spreading “false info” is maximum of 15 yrs.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...-to-russia