Russian Federation Imprisons US-Russian Woman for 12 Years on “Treason”

Ksenia Karelina, a US citizen living in Russia, was found guilty of “treason” on Thursday by a Russian court. She had allegedly sent slightly more than $50 to a charity that supported Ukraine.

Karelina, a 32-year-old Los Angeles resident and professional in the spa industry, was arrested by law enforcement in late January while on a family visit in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

The Sverdlovsk Regional Court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg declared, “The court found Ksenia Karelina guilty of high treason and sentenced her to 12 years’ imprisonment in a general regime colony.”

In a court-posted video, Karelina was seen standing in a glass defendant’s cage while the verdict was being read out. She was dressed in trousers and a white shirt.

Shortly after Russia began its full-scale military offensive in February 2022, she gave $51.80 to the New York-based charity “Razom for Ukraine,” according to US media sites that cited her family and place of employment.

She was charged with gathering funds “used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces” by Russia’s FSB intelligence service.

During a court last week, she entered a guilty plea, according to state media.

Moscow has been charged by Washington of detaining its citizens on false pretenses in order to use them as leverage when negotiating the release of Russian nationals who have been convicted overseas.

In its largest prisoner exchange with the West since the end of the Cold War, Russia released US reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan, and 14 other US citizens little over two weeks prior to Karelina’s sentencing.

An American man who was charged on Wednesday with using physical force on a Russian law enforcement official in Moscow was given a 15-day jail sentence for “hooliganism.”

“Incorrectly accused”

The Ciel Spa at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, Karelina’s place of employment, stated on Facebook in February that she had been “wrongly accused.”

Additionally, her partner has made a formal request for her release.

Almost a month after taking a plane to Russia, Karelina was initially arrested on January 27 while visiting relatives in the city of Yekaterinburg, according to a Russian rights organization.

According to the Mediazona news outlet, the charge was related to “swearing in a public place,” a claim she denied in court, according to Russian regional news agency URA.RU.

Russian media sites claim that although FSB officers may have found out how she paid the pro-Ukraine charity on her phone, it was unclear how they did so.

She was arrested for “petty hooliganism” and kept for 14 days at first. However, she was never freed from custody since she was accused of “treason” by the government.

Foreign nationals are frequently detained in Russia on unrelated accusations before being charged with more serious crimes like treason or espionage.