This article was last updated on August 15, 2024
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American gets twelve years in prison in Russia after donating to Ukraine
A Los Angeles woman has been sentenced to twelve years in prison in Russia for making a donation to Ukraine. 33-year-old Ksenia Karelina has Russian nationality in addition to American nationality and was arrested while visiting family in Russia. She donated $52 to a Ukrainian aid organization.
Because of Karelina’s dual nationality, she was prosecuted for treason in Russia. According to the Russian government, the money was used to finance the Ukrainian army.
Karelina was in the western Russian city of Yekaterinburg at the beginning of this year and was arrested immediately upon arrival.
Russia correspondent Geert Groot Koerkamp:
“The question naturally arises whether Karelina could not have been included in the big one prisoner exchange more than two weeks ago, during which the American journalist Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal and the American former Marine Paul Whelan were released.
But of course there are a lot of people who were eligible to be traded. In the case of Karelina, it also plays a role that she had not yet been convicted, and for Russia this is always necessary to exchange someone.
The speed with which her case has now been processed could indicate that she will soon be involved in a prisoner exchange. It is possible that she has been arrested, specifically to be exchanged again, but we have to see how that goes. We have no indication of this at the moment.”
Karelina was born in Russia and emigrated to the US in 2012. She also became an American citizen three years ago.
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