Kurmasheva, a 47-year-old editor for RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir language service, was convicted of 'spreading false information' about the military after a trial that lasted just two days, according to the website of the Supreme Court of Tatarstan.
Matthew Miller, the U.S. State Department spokesman, said Kurmasheva is being 'targeted by Russian authorities for her uncompromising commitment to speaking the truth and her principled reporting.'
Her husband, Pavel Butorin, insisted that the charges against Kurmasheva were unfounded and related to a book the Tatar-Bashkir service released called 'No to War,' which he stated does not contain 'false information.'
The conviction in Kazan, Russia, came on the same day a court in Yekaterinburg convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years, a case termed politically motivated by the U.S.
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