‘We want her back:’ The husband of a US journalist detained in Russia appeals for her release
By KAREL JANICEK
Associated Press
PRAGUE (AP) — The husband of a Russian-American journalist working for a U.S. government-funded media company who is detained in Russia has called for her speedy release. Alsu Kurmacheva’s husband Pavel Butorin told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that the couple was due to celebrate their 21st anniversary this week. Kurmasheva, an editor with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir service, was detained on Oct 18 and charged with failing to self-register as a foreign agent. She is being held in a detention center, awaiting a trial that could sentence her to up to five years in prison. “We want her back,” says her husband.