American Ballerina Ksenia Karelina Sentenced to 12 Years in Russian Prison

An American ballerina has been sentenced to 12 years in jail by a Russian court for treason.

Ksenia Karelina was arrested by Russian authorities after making a $51.80 donation to a Ukrainian charity based in the United States that provides humanitarian aid to children and the elderly.

The 33-year-old dancer holds dual Russian-American citizenship. She was visiting her parents and her grandmother when Russian authorities checked her cellphone and found the donation.

Karelina's boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, spoke with Inside Edition.

"Ksenia should not be where she is right now," van Heerden says. "She has done nothing wrong, nothing."

Karelina's sentencing comes two weeks after the r elease of three Americans and a permanent U.S. resident from Russian captivity in the largest prisoner exchange since the Cold War.

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