Alsu Kurmasheva is an award-winning journalist and editor at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
In October 2023, she was detained in Russia and charged with spreading “false” information about the Russian military, a charge linked to her alleged role in editing and distributing a book featuring accounts from Russians opposed to the invasion of Ukraine. In July 2024, she was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. In August 2024, Alsu was released as part of a prisoner exchange. Since then, she has emerged as a vocal advocate for press freedom, drawing on her own experience of imprisonment to highlight the risks journalists face in authoritarian regimes. She was awarded the International Press Freedom Award (IPFA), one of the most prestigious honors in journalism for bravery and resilience in the face of repression and National Press Club President’s Award, both in 2024.
