France deplores the arrest of Russian-American Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
This arrest follows that of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, whose detention was prolonged in August.
France could be very involved by the Russian authorities’ crackdown on critics of the federal government and its struggle of aggression towards Ukraine. It condemns restrictions on the liberty of speech and freedom of the press, which have multiplied in latest months.
France calls on the Russian authorities to respect human rights and basic liberties, to launch all political prisoners and to drop authorized proceedings towards them.
