Pavel Butorin, director of the current time, TV and digital platform of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and his wife Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmacheva pose for a photo in Prague, Czech Republic on Wednesday Aug. 14, 2013. Kurmacheva, the editor with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir service was detained on Oct 18, 2023 in Russia and is being held in a detention center, awaiting a trial that could sentence her to up to five years in prison. Kurmasheva was detained on Oct 18, becoming the second U.S. journalist detained in Russia this year, after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges in March. “Alsu was well aware of the risks that were associated with a possible trip to Russia,” Butorin added. Independent media and journalists in Russia have faced immense pressure after the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022.

Source: ABC News November 12, 2023 00:10 UTC