YEKATERINBURG, Russia (AP) — U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana was convicted Thursday of treason in a Russian court and sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges stemming from a $51 donation to a charity aiding Ukraine.
Khavana, identified by Russian authorities by her maiden name of Ksenia Karelina, was arrested in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg in February and pleaded guilty in a closed trial last week, news reports said.
Karelina, a 33-year-old former ballet dancer, reportedly obtained U.S. citizenship after marrying an American and moving to Los Angeles. She had returned to Russia to visit her family.
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Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana speaks with her lawyer standing in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo) -
Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a courtroom in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo) -
Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo) -
Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a courtroom in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo) -
Ksenia Karelina and her boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, are seen in a personal photo. (Chris Van Heerden) -
Ksenia Karelina seen in a photo from her Facebook profile. -
Ksenia Karelina and her boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, are seen in a personal photo. (Chris Van Heerden) -
Ksenia Karelina seen detained in a Russian facility. (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB)) -
Ksenia Karelina seen detained in a Russian facility. (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) -
Ksenia Karelina seen detained in a Russian facility. (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB)
Russia’s Federal Security Service said she “proactively collected money in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organizations, which was subsequently used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces.”
The rights group The First Department said the charges stem from a $51 donation to a U.S. charity. The trial took place in Yekaterinburg, about 880 miles (1,416 kilometers) east of Moscow.
Her attorney, Mikhail Mushailov, said he planned to appeal the verdict.
Karelina’s boyfriend Chris van Heerden took to social media to express his reaction to the sentence.
“Sentenced twelve years. This is bogus. She’s a U.S. Citizen. She exercised her First Amendment right on U.S. home soil and donated $51 to Ukraine as a U.S. citizen in Los Angeles. She’s done nothing wrong,” van Heerden posted in a story on his Instagram account.
van Heerden gifted Karelina the plane ticket she used to travel to Russia to visit her parents and younger sister.
Since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has sharply cracked down on dissent and has passed laws that criminalize criticism of the operation in Ukraine and remarks considered to discredit the Russian military. Concern has risen since then that Russia is targeting U.S. nationals for arrest.
On Aug. 1, Russia and the West held the largest prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War. Included in the swap was Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and American corporate security executive Paul Whelan, both of whom were convicted of espionage charges that they vehemently denied, and U.S.-Russian dual national Alsu Kurmasheva, a Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe journalist sentenced to 6 1/2 years for spreading “false information” about the Russian military.
Russia also released several prominent opposition figures who were imprisoned for criticizing the military operation in Ukraine.