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The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to the charges and was detained in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg earlier this year while visiting her grandparents read more
 "Russian-American ballerina sentenced to 12 years for making $50 donation to charity supporting Ukraine")
Ksenia Karelina, a US-Russian citizen was sentenced to 12 years in prison after she was charged with treason in Russia for her donation to a non-profit. Image Courtesy: Ksenia Karelina/Facebook
Weeks after a historic prisoner swap, a Russian court has awarded a 12-year prison sentence to a Russian-American ballerina named Ksenia Karelina. The Russian authorities charged Karelina with treason after she made a donation of just over $50 to a US-based charity supporting Ukraine in the ongoing war against Russia.
The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to the charges and was detained in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg earlier this year while visiting her grandparents. The verdict was delivered on Thursday during a closed-door trial held at Sverdlovsk regional court, CNN reported.
Investigators involved in the case accused Karelina of sending money to purchase equipment and ammunition for the Ukrainian army. Meanwhile, Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, told Russian reporters that he would appeal the verdict at a higher court.
The timing
It is pertinent to note that the conviction of the Russian-American ballerina came just two weeks after Russia and the West carried out the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War. 24 people including American nationals Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich were part of the deal that involved seven countries.
Before the verdict, Mushailov told Reuters Karelina is hoping to be included in a future prisoner swap deal. “An exchange is impossible until the court verdict comes into force,” he told reporters. “After the verdict, of course, we will work in this direction," he furthered.
The story of Ksenia Karelina
Karelina was a Los Angeles resident and an amateur ballerina. He became a citizen of the United States back in 2021 and was travelling to Russia in January to visit her grandparents. Chris Van Heerden, Karelina’s boyfriend, told CNN he had bought her ticket to visit the country as a birthday gift. “She had no fear, she was so proud to be going home… she’s so proud of Russia,” Heerden recalled.
The couple was on a vacation in Istanbul, Turkey, from there, Heerden returned to California and Karelina flew to Russia. This was her first visit to the country in several years. Interestingly, Heerden said that his girlfriend never spoke about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. “She doesn’t watch the news, she doesn’t intervene with anything,” he said.
Meanwhile, the organisation to which Karelina reportedly gave money, the New York-based non-profit Razom for Ukraine, said that they are appalled by the detention of Karelina. Her trial was held in the same court of Yekaterinburg where journalist Evan Gershkovich was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison, last month. Both cases were heard by Judge Andrei Mineev.
With inputs from agencies.
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English (US) ·