Russia sentences young US-Russian citizen Karelina to 12 years in prison

Russia has sentenced Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina to twelve years in prison.

Guilty of treason

A Russian court found Ksenia Karelina guilty of treason for donating money to a charity supporting Ukraine.

The spa worker, who lives in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in her closed trial in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg.

Remarkably, the same court that convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich of espionage in July.

Money transfer

The court said investigators had established that Karelina “transferred funds in the interests of a Ukrainian organization” on February 24, 2022 – the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Her supporters say she donated $51.80 to Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based charity that provides humanitarian aid to children and the elderly in Ukraine.

The charity has denied providing military support to Kyiv.

Appearance in court

Karelina, 33, appeared in court on Thursday wearing a white sweatshirt and blue jeans and sat quietly in a glass cage in the courtroom.

She was not involved in the major prisoner exchange between Russia and the West two weeks ago in which Gershkovich was released.

In addition, her lawyer Mikhail Mushailov expressed the hope that she would be included in a future exchange.

How did she get American citizenship?

Karelina was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States in 2012 as part of a work-study program.

In 2021, she received American citizenship.

Arrest

The FSB security service arrested her after she flew to Russia earlier this year to visit her family in Yekaterinburg.

Soon after entering Russia with her US passport, Karelina ran into trouble.

interrogation

After interrogation, authorities confiscated her cellphone and found the 2022 donation to Razom for Ukraine in her Venmo account.

The FSB interrogated her for up to two hours as part of weekly mandatory checks and banned her from leaving the city, the website says.

Charged with hooliganism and high treason

Karelina was arrested for hooliganism and sentenced to 15 days in prison a few days before her scheduled return to Los Angeles.

Shortly before her release, she was also accused of high treason.

Acquittals for serious crimes are virtually unknown in Russia.

Reaction from family and friends

Her family and friends in the United States described her as someone who was not particularly interested in politics.

In addition, her boyfriend is trying to get her released.

He is in contact with both the Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy in Moscow.

Significantly, Washington did not label Karelina as “wrongfully detained,” unlike the cases of Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

(With contributions from Reuters)