Ballerina Sentenced for Supporting Ukraine
After donating $51 (£39) to a charity aiding Ukraine, amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina was sentenced by a Russian court to 12 years in jail for treason. Found convicted in a trial conducted behind closed doors last week, Karelina is an American and Russian citizen.
Arrest During Family Visit
Arrested in January on a family visit to Yekaterinburg, around 1,600km (1,000 miles) away, Karelina had been living in Los Angeles and became a US citizen in 2021. Prosecutors requested a fifteen-year term. Judge Andrei Mineev presided over the Yekaterinburg court, which condemned her to the general regime penal colony for high treason.
Charity Donation Sparks Controversy
Russia’s FSB security agency accused Karelina of funding a Ukrainian company purportedly supplying weapons to the Ukrainian military, therefore violating laws. According to Russian human rights campaigners, Karelina made a single $51.80 payment on February 22, 2022, the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, while residing in the US. It is thought that the FSB found the transaction on her phone.
Mikhail Mushailov, her attorney, said, “Ksenia confessed to moving the money, believing it would benefit victims on both sides. She plans to object to the sentence.” Razom for Ukraine is a US-founded foundation dedicated to humanitarian help and disaster relief; it has refuted claims of sponsoring firearms or ammunition.
Comparison with Other Cases
Karelina’s trial occurred in the same court as Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal writer imprisoned for espionage. Still, it was freed earlier this month in a significant prisoner swap with the US and other Western nations. Judge Mineev presided over both instances.
Boyfriend Expresses Frustration
Chris van Heerden, a boxer and boyfriend of Ksenia Karelina, expressed his frustration with the US State Department. “News this morning woke me up. I’m still seated here, trying to make sense of everything. “There was a prisoner swap two weeks ago, and Ksenia was not on that list,” he said, complaining about the inaction taken to guarantee her freedom. Ksenia should be home; I’m furious, and I’m trying to keep my cool.”
“Now my question is, can we get Ksenia declared ‘wrongly detained’ today so that she is part of the next swap?” Van Heerden said. Should the US declare “wrongful detention,” her case would take front stage in subsequent discussions. “To my surprise, there were two people in the prisoner swap who were not declared ‘wrongly detained,'” he said, “and they got out—so why is Ksenia not home?”
Increased Repression and Treason Cases
Russian authorities have ramped up their persecution of opposition following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Human rights organizations claim that anti-war activists have been targets of more than 1,000 open criminal prosecutions. In response, last year, President Vladimir Putin approved a decree raising the maximum jail penalty for treason from 20 years to life. Twenty-first-century treason trials opened in unprecedented numbers.
Dual German-Russian minor Kevin Lik was condemned to four years for treason in July. Among the sixteen people Russia freed in exchange for prisoners from the West, Originally taken into custody for “petty hooliganism,” the FSB eventually upped Karelina’s allegations to treason.
Concerns for Karelina's Well-being
Before her arrest, Karelina had been visiting her parents and elderly grandmother in Yekaterinburg. She had also been working at a Beverly Hills luxury spa. Known by her maiden name, Ksenia Karelina, and as Ksenia Khavana, following her ex-husband’s surname, she has a bleak future in jail.
Deeply worried for her well-being, Van Heerden said, “I want to break down and cry and yell and lose my head, but I know I have to stay strong—and I need to keep fighting.” He worries about Karelina’s health and says, “She is a gentle person with a very kind heart, and I am concerned for her. She is terrified, hence I worry that her kind heart will be trampled upon. She is being tough, but I know she wants to break down and cry.”
“The fight doesn’t end here,” he underlined. “The battle now is to get her back on US territory. Our whole hope is in the US government.”
