Headline Roundup • July 22nd, 2024
American-Russian Journalist Sentenced to 6.5 Years in Russian Prison
Summary from the AllSides News Team
American-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who is an editor for the U.S. government-funded media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison on Friday.
The Details: Kurmasheva’s sentencing was completed via a two-day secret trial and made public by Russian officials on Monday.
For Context: Kurmasheva traveled from her home in Prague to Russia for a family emergency in May 2023 and was subsequently accused of collecting information on the Russian military to share with “foreign sources” in September 2022. In October 2023 she was charged with these accusations as well as failing to register as a foreign agent. Kurmasheva’s outlet, RFE/RL, was founded by the CIA in 1950 to weaken communist governments during the Cold War. Last week, Wall Street Journal (Center bias) reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in prison for similar offenses.
How The Media Covered It: In the hours after the news broke, it was widely covered by outlets from the left and center. As of Monday afternoon, AllSides did not find explicit coverage from the right. However, The Washington Times (Lean Right bias) and New York Post (Lean Right bias) republished coverage from The Associated Press (Lean Left bias) and Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) published comments from Kurmasheva's husband hours before the news broke.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Alexey Nasyrov/Reuters
A Russian court has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist, to six-and-a-half years in prison, state news agency TASS reported Monday.
The hearing, which was held behind closed doors, found Kurmasheva guilty of spreading false information about the Russian army, making her just the latest US journalist to be convicted in the country in recent months.
Kurmasheva’s charge was handed down in the city of Kazan on Friday, the same day that a court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich of espionage and sentenced him to...
REUTERS/Alexey Nasyrov/File Photo
A Russian court has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), to 6-1/2 years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian army, the court revealed on Monday.
A spokesperson for the court in the southern city of Kazan said Kurmasheva had been sentenced on Friday following two days of court proceedings. Her lawyer did not immediately reply to a Reuters question about whether she would appeal and the U.S. embassy did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Friday was also...
_0.jpg)
AP Photo
A court has convicted Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, of spreading false information about the Russian army and sentenced her to 6½ years in prison after a secret trial, court records and officials said Monday.
The conviction in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s central region of Tatarstan, came on Friday, the same day a court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison in a case that the U.S....
AllSides Picks
Headline Roundup
Former Trump Campaign Manager at Center of Israeli Influence Operation Targeting Gen Z
July 20th, 2026
Red Blue Translator
Media Elite
Red Blue Translator
Liberal Media
Blog
Bloomberg Bias Rating Moves From Lean Left to Center: 2026 AllSides Update
AllSides Staff
July 21st, 2026
