New case launched against detained journalist for book condemning the war in Ukraine

Fresh criminal charges have been brought against Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was detained in Tatarstan in June for failing to register with the Ministry of Justice as a foreign agent as required by Russian law.

The fresh charges relate to Kurmasheva’s book “No to War. 40 Stories of Russians Opposing the Invasion of Ukraine”, which was published last December, Telegram channel Baza and regional website Tatar-Inform reported on Tuesday.

Kurmasheva, who works as a journalist for Idel.Realii, the Tatar-Bashkir service of Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, is a dual Russian and American national and lives with her family in Prague.

After travelling to Russia in May for a private visit, Kurmasheva was detained at Kazan Airport on 2 June while waiting for her flight home and had her passports confiscated. In October, she was fined 10,000 rubles (€103) for her failure to notify the Interior Ministry of her second citizenship.