As someone who collects information about Russian military activities that “could be used against the security of the Russian Federation,” Kurmasheva should have registered as a foreign agent, according to local authorities, Russia’s Tatar news agency reported. According to human rights organization OVD-info, Kurmasheva risks a prison sentence of up to five years.
Kurmasheva’s employer RFE/RL is funded by the US government and regularly reports on the war in Ukraine. However, the journalist has mainly reported on ethnic minority communities in Russia’s Volga-Ural region, according to a statement from RFE/RL.
Kurmasheva is the second American journalist arrested by Russia in recent months. Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, has been in custody since March on espionage charges.