Family holds out hope for ballerina still imprisoned in Russia

( NewsNation ) — After the euphoria over the release of some Americans in a multi-country, 16-person prisoner swap last week, relatives of the eight Americans still being held by Russia want to remind us of their loved ones’ plights.

“They’ve got the agenda, and they are following it,” said Eleonora Srebroski, the former mother-in-law of imprisoned amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina , of Russian authorities.

Srebroski spoke to NewsNation about Karelina, the 32-year-old Las Angeles resident who was arrested in Russia in January as she was visiting her grandmother. Russian authorities searched Karelina’s Venmno account and discovered a donation of $51.80 to a charity raising money for humanitarian aid for Ukrainians impacted by the war.

Karelina, a Russian-born naturalized American citizen, is scheduled to go on trial next week for treason.

“America loves you. America fights for you. American people know that you are not guilty. American people support you,” Srebroski said, adding that she can’t write those words in her letters to Karelina for fear of censorship.

Srebroski says her former daughter-in-law “is a person with (a) huge heart. Every time she enters a room, she just lights up the room.”

She learned from Karelina’s mother who that her daughter “was able to even win the hearts of the personnel of the jail because she’s so sweet and so selfless.”

After months of silence, Russian authorities have now allowed Karelina to speak to family members.

“Now that we are able to communicate with her, we are writing letters,” said Srebroski. “She’s able to speak on the phone with her family. At least she’s physically OK. She’s telling us what she’s reading. She’s telling us that she’s meditating … trying to exercise.”

And, as the ultimate testament to Karelina’s selflessness: “She’s worried about us. She’s apologizing that she’s causing us problems.”

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