Russian-American woman with ties to LA sentenced to 12 years in prison on treason charges
Ksenia Karelina, a Los Angeles resident, was detained in Yekaterinburg earlier this year while visiting her grandparents.
YEKATERINBURG, Russia (KABC) -- U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana, who has ties to Los Angeles, 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.
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.
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 east of Moscow.
"What about this is not wrongful?" Khavana's boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, said in an interview with ABC7. "Why can we not get her declared 'wrongfully detained'? I was pushing for it. And I still need answers."
He said the donation was made on American soil.
"She exercised her First Amendment rights," Van Heerden said. "How is she facing 12 years in prison?"
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.
Russia also released several prominent opposition figures who were imprisoned for criticizing the military operation in Ukraine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
