Washington D.C. – VOA, November 22, 2024
This time last year, American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was in a Russian prison, jailed on bogus charges.
On Thursday night, free from her ordeal, she accepted a prestigious press freedom award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, in New York.
“This is a very emotional moment for me. It means so much,” Kurmasheva told VOA shortly before receiving her award. “I will take this opportunity to address the whole world to repeat again that journalism is not a crime and all journalists who are behind bars today should be released at once.”
A dual U.S.-Russian national who works at VOA’s sister outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague, Kurmasheva was jailed in Russia for more than nine months on charges widely viewed as politically motivated.
During her acceptance speech, Kurmasheva recounted her experience in prison. “I tried not to look up as the snow was falling because I couldn’t bear seeing the many layers of barbed wire between me and the sky,” she said.
