Russian court sentenced Ksenia Karelina, a dual Russian-U.S. citizen, to 12 years in prison for treason over a donation she made to a charity that helps Ukraine.
The Sverdlovsk Regional Court announced the sentence Thursday after prosecutors had asked the judge to jail Karelina for 15 years. The Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, accused her in February of collecting funds for the Ukrainian army, Russia’s state-run Tass news service reported.
A resident of Los Angeles, Karelina, 33, was detained during a family visit to the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. She pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 and hopes to be released in a future prisoner exchange with the U.S., her lawyer Mikhail Mushailov said, according to Tass.
The case revolved around a small donation Karelina allegedly made in 2022 to a U.S.-based charity that provides humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The FSB claimed the money was used to aid the Ukrainian military, without offering any evidence, in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
The closed-door trial took place in the same courthouse where Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges. Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and a group of jailed Russian dissidents were freed in a prisoner exchange involving Russia, the U.S. and a number of European countries on Aug. 1.
Russian officials have previously said that Moscow and Washington may continue prisoner swaps.
There are currently 766 political prisoners in Russian prisons, according to the Memorial human rights center.
