Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), has been convicted of spreading “false information” about the Russian army and sentenced to 6½ years in prison.

That’s according to the Associated Press, citing court records.

Kurmasheva, an editor for RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir service, was rapidly and secretly convicted on July 19 in Kazan, in the Russian republic of Tatarstan. This was on the same day as Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in Yekaterinburg on espionage charges. The US has called both cases politically motivated. 

Kurmasheva, a dual citizen of the US and Russia residing in Prague, was found guilty of "spreading knowingly false information" about the Russian army by promoting and distributing a book that features interviews with several Russians who oppose Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The book, titled "No War: Stories of 40 Russians Opposing the Invasion of Ukraine," was published by RFE/RL.

The journalist encountered her first difficulties in June 2023, when her passports were confiscated at Kazan International Airport. She had travelled to Russia to visit her ill mother. Four months later, in October 2023, she was charged with failing to register her US passport. She was then given additional charges for spreading false information about the Russian military.

RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus condemned the trial, calling it a “mockery of justice” and demanding her immediate release.

"It's beyond time for this American citizen, our dear colleague, to be reunited with her loving family," Capus said in a statement. “The only just outcome is for Alsu to be immediately released from prison by her Russian captors."

Since February, RFE/RL has been labelled an undesirable organisation in Russia and faced heavy fines and legal troubles under foreign agent laws

The convictions of Kurmasheva and Gershkovich have raised hopes for a potential prisoner exchange between Moscow and Washington. Gershkovich, convicted of spying for the US, has been held since March 2023. He is the first US journalist to face espionage charges in Russia since 1986.