A Russian court has sentenced a Russian-american woman, Ksenia Karelina, to 12 years in prison for treason after she made a donation of over $50 to a US-based charity supporting Ukraine. The verdict was announced Thursday following a closed-door trial at the Sverdlovsk regional court.
Karelina had pleaded guilty to the charges and was detained earlier this year while visiting her grandparents in Yekaterinburg. Investigators claimed that she sent money to purchase equipment and ammunition for the Ukrainian army, according to RIA Novosti.
Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, plans to appeal the verdict. In response to the sentence, John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, called it “vindictive cruelty.” He stated that sending $50 to alleviate suffering is not treasonous.
The conviction comes as Russia and the West recently carried out their largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, where 24 people were released. Ahead of the verdict, Karelina’s lawyer said she hopes to be included in a future swap. Chris Van Heerden, Karelina’s boyfriend, expressed anger that she was not part of the earlier prisoner exchange.
Karelina, a Los Angeles resident and amateur ballerina who became a US citizen in 2021, traveled to Russia in January to visit her grandparents. The organization she donated to, Razom for Ukraine, has spoken out against her detention.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/15/europe/ksenia-karelina-russia-america-sentence-treason-intl/index.html