A Russian court on Tuesday rejected an appeal to detain Russian-American journalist Alsa Kurmasheva, accused of failing to register as a “foreign agent”, reports AFP.

Ms. Kurmasheva “and her lawyer asked to change the preventive measure from detention to house arrest. The court rejected the appeal,” a representative of the Supreme Court of Tatarstan, the region in central Russia where she was arrested on October 18, told Interfax.

Alsou Kurmasheva is one of two American journalists arrested in Russia this year.

The first was Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Hershkovich, who was arrested in March for “espionage,” a charge he and his employer vehemently deny.

Kurmasheva, who works for the US-funded Radio Free Europe, was arrested in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan.

The journalist, who usually lives in Prague with her husband and two teenage daughters, traveled to Russia on May 20 for “family reasons” but was unable to leave because her American and Russian passports were confiscated.

Last week, a Russian court ruled to keep her in custody until at least December 5 on charges of failure to register as a “foreign agent,” which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.

His employer demanded his immediate dismissal.

Rights groups say his detention marks a new milestone in Russia’s campaign against independent media, which has intensified since Russia launched its offensive against Ukraine in February 2022.