Boyfriend of LA ballerina Ksenia Karelina sentenced to prison in Russia “for begging the American people for help”

While the Russian-American Ksenia Karelina is preparing to appeal against 12 years imprisonment in a Russian penal colony After pleading guilty to treason on Thursday, her boyfriend Chris Van Heerden must come to terms with the harsh reality of her situation.

“How did I end up here? How did Ksenia end up here?” he said in an exclusive interview with “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King in response to Thursday's verdict.

Russia convicts Karelina of treason

Karelina was sentenced after pleading guilty to treason earlier this month. She was arrested Earlier this year, during a trip to Russia, he donated about $51 to a U.S.-based humanitarian organization that helps war-stricken Ukrainians, Russian state media reported.

Her lawyers said that while she admitted to transferring the funds, she did not admit to intentionally sending them to organizations that could have used the money for anti-Russian actions. She did not expect that her donation would ultimately support anti-Russian activities.

According to Van Heerden, her donation to Ukraine in 2022, which was legal under US law, was later used as evidence to charge her with treason under a law passed by Russia in 2023.

She “exercised her rights under the First Amendment. She did nothing wrong,” he said.

“She wanted to go home”

Van Heerden said he was concerned about Karelina’s decision to return to Russia this year, given the ongoing war between Russia and UkraineBut he said she had “no worries in the world” and assured him it was safe since she was entering the country with joint American-Russian citizenship.

“She wanted to go home. She made it very clear that she wanted to go home,” Van Heerden told King.

Ksenia was convinced there was no danger, especially since she did not follow the news closely, and Van Heerden admitted that he did not either. He wanted to fulfill her wish to come home, so in December he bought her a plane ticket as a birthday present. The couple traveled to Istanbul for New Year. He wanted to travel to Russia with her from there, but he did not feel comfortable doing so. So she traveled to Russia alone and he returned home to Los Angeles.

The trouble began, Van Heerden said, when Karelina arrived in Russia. He said she was detained at the airport and interrogated for 12 to 16 hours.

Van Heerden is trying to find out how the Russian authorities knew about Karelina's donation. He recalls a strange encounter at the airport in Istanbul as Karelina was preparing for her flight to Russia. An employee of the Russian airline double-checked her details and asked if she was travelling with a different passport, which made the situation seem suspicious.

After Karelina confirmed that she was also an American citizen, she was allowed to board the plane. However, upon arrival in Russia, she was detained, interrogated and later arrested.

Van Heerden said he was struggling to control his emotions as he struggled with the injustice of the situation.

“Why are we in this situation?” asked Van Heerden, adding: “Ksenia should be at home and I am angry.”

Request to the USA to bring Karelina home

Regarding the U.S. State Department's involvement, Van Heerden said he had not heard much about the organization and had limited access to Karelina during the eight months she was detained. He asked why it was not involved this month. Prisoner exchange than three Americans – including a reporter from the Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovichformer Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva – were released by Russia.

“I've been pushing for the last eight months, I've been pushing for wrongful imprisonment so that Ksenia would be on that list and be a priority if there was a prison exchange,” he said. “I was pushed back. I was told we still had time. I was told, 'Chris, don't worry.' There won't be a prison exchange until after the election or maybe early next year. So we have time and I pushed, but I got pushed back. And you know what? Two weeks ago there was a prison exchange. And Ksenia wasn't on that list.”

Van Heerden said he was able to communicate with Karelina by letter, although he knew they were under surveillance by Russian authorities. They had exchanged letters about twice a month for the past eight months. He said he believed Karelina's situation was unjustified and questioned why she had not yet been officially classified as wrongfully imprisoned despite her 12-year sentence.

Now he is calling on the American public to support efforts to bring them back.

“I am not a beggar, but I am begging the American people to help me get Ksenia back,” he said.