"I believe Alsu was detained wrongfully.
I hope the United States can use every avenue available to it to secure her speedy release, including her designation as a wrongfully detained person," Butorin told a news briefing.
When Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March on spying charges that he, his paper and the Biden administration all deny, the State Department declared him wrongfully detained just 12 days later.
Jeffrey Gedmin, acting president of RFE/RL, said the news outlet was working with the State Department in a bid to secure the designation.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, asked about Kurmasheva's case at a daily news briefing, said no one should read anything into the amount of time taken to reach a decision.
Persons:
Mark Trevelyan, ”, Alsu, Pavel Butorin, Butorin, Evan Gershkovich, Biden, Gershkovich, Kurmasheva, Jeffrey Gedmin, Matthew Miller, Simon Lewis, David Gregorio
Organizations:
Mark Trevelyan LONDON, U.S, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, RFE, U.S . Congress, State Department, Kremlin
Locations:
American, Radio Free Europe, Russia, United States, U.S, Moscow, Washington