Moscow, August 15 – A Russian court has sentenced Ksenia Karelina, a 33-year-old amateur ballerina and dual American-Russian citizen, to 12 years in prison on charges of treason. Karelina was found guilty for donating $51 to a charity that supports Ukraine. The sentencing occurred after a closed-door trial in Yekaterinburg, approximately 1,000 miles east of Moscow, where Karelina was arrested during a family visit in January this year.

Karelina, who became a U.S. citizen in 2021 and resides in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to the charges last week. Prosecutors had initially sought a 15-year sentence. The court found her guilty of high treason and sentenced her to penal servitude in a general penal colony.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia accused Karelina of collecting funds for a Ukrainian organization that allegedly supplies weapons to the Ukrainian military. The donation, although relatively small, was linked to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, resulting in severe legal repercussions for Karelina.

Rezom, the charity to which Karelina made the donation, expressed shock and horror at her arrest and subsequent conviction.

Karelina's trial took place in the same Yekaterinburg court where Wall Street Journal reporter Ivan Gershkovich was previously tried on espionage charges. Gershkovich was released earlier this month as part of a broader prisoner exchange involving the United States and other countries.

Her boyfriend, boxer Chris van Heerden, described the trial as deeply distressing, stating, "I can't even begin to imagine what she's going through. This has been incredibly nerve-racking."