U.S.-Russian dual national jailed for 12 years on treason charges for US$52 donation to Ukraine

Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana, sits in a glass cage in a courtroom in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo)

YEKATERINBURG, Russia -

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 donation of about US$52 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.

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Khavana, 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.

She reportedly had her phone confiscated after arriving in Yekaterinburg in January and police found evidence on the phone of the donation. Soon before her planned departure she was jailed for 15 days on petty hooliganism charges and then charged with treason.

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 US$51.80 donation to a U.S. charity. The trial took place in Yekaterinburg, about 880 miles (1,420 kilometres) east of Moscow.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that the conviction and sentencing of Khavana, was "nothing less than vindictive cruelty." He said U.S. officials were working to gain consular access to Khavana.

"We're talking about 50 bucks," Kirby added. "To call that treason is absolutely ludicrous"

Khavana's attorney, Mikhail Mushailov, said he planned to appeal the verdict.

"She admitted guilt in part in transferring the funds, but did not admit her intent to transfer the funds to the organizations where they were most likely received," he said.

"She did not assume that the funds she transferred would be used for anti-Russian actions," he said, according to the Interfax news agency.

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.

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Russia also released several prominent opposition figures who were imprisoned for criticizing the Ukraine military operation.