On Thursday, a Russian court sentenced US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina to 12 years in prison for “treason” after she allegedly donated just over $50 to a pro-Ukraine charity. Karelina, a 32-year-old ballet dancer and spa worker residing in Los Angeles, was detained by police in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in late January while visiting her family.
The Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Yekaterinburg announced, “Ksenia Karelina has been found guilty of high treason and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment in a general regime colony.”
A video shared by the court showed Karelina standing in a glass defendant’s cage, dressed in a white top and jeans, as the verdict was delivered.
Karelina had donated $51.80 to “Razom for Ukraine,” a New York-based charity, shortly after Russia launched its full-scale military invasion in February 2022, according to US media outlets citing her family and employer.
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Russia’s FSB security service accused her of raising funds that were allegedly used to purchase medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces.
Ksenia Karelina Pleads Guilty To The Charges
Last week, Karelina pleaded guilty to the charges, as reported by state media. The US has accused Russia of arresting its citizens on unfounded charges to use them as bargaining chips for the release of Russians imprisoned abroad.
Karelina’s sentencing comes just weeks after Russia freed US journalist Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan, and 14 others in the largest prisoner swap with the West since the Cold War.
On Wednesday, another American was sentenced to 15 days in custody for “hooliganism” after being accused of violence against a Russian law enforcement officer in Moscow.
Karelina’s employer, Ciel Spa at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, wrote on Facebook in February that she had been “wrongly accused,” and her partner has also publicly appealed for her release.
When Was Ksenia Karelina First Detained?
Karelina was first detained on January 27 while visiting family in Yekaterinburg, nearly a month after arriving in Russia, according to a Russian rights group.
The Russian regional news agency URA.RU reported that she was initially charged with “swearing in a public place,” an accusation she denied in court, according to the Mediazona news outlet.
It is suspected that FSB officers discovered the donation to the pro-Ukraine charity on her phone, though the exact method is unclear, as per Russian media reports.
Karelina was initially held for 14 days on charges of “petty hooliganism” but was never released, as authorities charged her with “treason” while she remained in custody.
Russia has a history of arresting foreigners on minor charges before escalating the accusations to more serious offenses like treason or espionage.
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