A Russian court has sentenced 33-year-old Russian-American woman Ksenia Karelina to 12 years in prison for treason after she made a small donation of just over US$50 to an American charity aiding Ukraine.
The verdict followed a closed-door hearing at the Sverdlovsk Regional Court after Karelina was detained earlier this year while visiting her grandparents.
According to RIA Novosti, Karelina, who admitted to the charges, was accused of sending money to purchase equipment and ammunition for the Ukrainian army.
His lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, has indicated he plans to appeal the ruling.
The sentencing comes just days after a major prisoner swap between Russia and Western countries that saw the release of 24 individuals, including former US Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Ivan Gershkovitch.
The Russian government has recently increased penalties for treason, with President Vladimir Putin raising the maximum sentence from 20 years to life imprisonment last year amid the ongoing war.
Karelina, a Los Angeles resident who became a US citizen in 2021, was on her first trip to Russia in several years. Her boyfriend Chris van Heerden revealed that she was excited about the trip, which he had arranged as a birthday gift. Van Heerden stressed that Karelina was not involved in politics and never spoke about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Resom for Ukraine, a New York-based nonprofit to which Karelina reportedly donated, expressed disappointment at her arrest and conviction.
The case has attracted considerable attention, particularly due to the court’s involvement in previous high-profile cases, including the conviction of Ivan Gershkovitch on espionage charges.
Karelina’s legal team is hopeful about the possibility of being included in a future prisoner swap, although her lawyer has acknowledged that such talks cannot proceed until the verdict is finalized.