A Russian court has sentenced US-Russia dual citizen Ksenia Karelina to 12 years in prison for donating to a Ukraine charity.
Ksenia, 33, was accused of high treason for donating $51.80 to a US organization providing charitable support to Ukraine , which Moscow claims ended up with the Ukrainian military. She was arrested in Yekaterinburg, in southwestern Russia , in February and pleaded guilty to the charge at a closed trial in the city earlier this month, according to Russian news agencies.
Ksenia had been living in the US for ten years but was arrested during a visit to her family in Russia. She had reassured her American boyfriend that returning to Russia was safe, prompting him to purchase her flight ticket.
However, upon arrival, her phone was searched, leading to initial charges of "petty hooliganism" that escalated to treason. The former semi-pro ballerina, who had been working as an aesthetician at a hotel spa in Beverly Hills, has been sentenced to imprisonment in a general regime penal colony in Russia.
Prosecutors had been seeking a 15-year prison sentence. Ksenia had previously described the harsh conditions of the Yekaterinburg detention center she was being held in in a letter to her boyfriend.
She shared that she is only allowed to shower once a week and doesn't have access to hot water in her cell. She also said that the lights are always on, making it hard for her to sleep. She said she's woken up every day at 6am and has to be in bed by 10pm.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) alleged a donation Ksenia made to Razom on the first day of Russia's invasion was "used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces".
The charity has denied providing any military support for Ukraine. Ksenia appeared in court on Thursday wearing a white sweatshirt and blue jeans.
She sat calmly inside a glass cage in the courtroom. Her case was heard by the same court that convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich of espionage in July.
He was freed from prison on August 1 and returned to the US in the largest post-Soviet US-Russia prisoner swap. The multinational deal saw two dozen people set free but Ksenia was not among them. Her lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, has said Ksenia has expressed hope to be included in a future prisoner exchange.
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