U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich has been detained in Russia since March 2023, nearly nine months, on charges of espionage for collecting military secrets.

Congress unanimously passed a resolution in June calling for his release, but this non-binding resolution has no legal force. However, it sends a message that this violation of press freedom is intolerable.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ data, at least 19 journalists have been detained nationwide in Russia.

On October 18, 2023, authorities in Kazan, Russia, detained Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Tatar-Bashkir Service.

Kurmasheva, now the second U.S. journalist to be detained, is charged with failure to register as a foreign agent and faces five years’ imprisonment. She is a dual U.S.-Russian citizen.