On Monday, the Russian court rejected the appeal of Russian-American citizen Xenia Karelinova against a 12-year prison sentence for “treason”. which she allegedly committed by she donated less than 52 dollars to a pro-Ukraine charity organization. TASR informs about it according to the AFP agency.
The original verdict in this case 32-year-old ballerina issued by a Russian court already in August. The US condemned him as “vindictive cruelty”. “The defendant’s appeal was dismissed. The judgment therefore enters into force,” the appeals court in the Sverdlovsk region reported on the Telegram platform on Monday. Karelinová will now be sent to a penal colony.
Thirty-two-year-old Karelinová lived and worked in Los Angeles, while she was ballerina and spa employee. However, Russian agents detained her in the city at the end of January Yekaterinburgwhere she was visiting her relatives. Originally she was accused of “petty hooliganism”, later and the charge changed to “self-made”.
According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), it was committed when shortly after the outbreak of war in Ukraine provided financial aid to a foreign state in activities directed against the security of Russia. In addition to that she repeatedly participated in protests against the war in Ukraine.
Amount in amount $51.80 donated in 2022 to the Razom organization based in New Yorkwhich provides aid to Ukraine attacked by Russia. The FSB claimed that the ultimate recipient of the aid was the Ukrainian army, while it accused of collecting money, which were “used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian Armed Forces”.
According to Russian state media reports, Karelinová k she admitted to the charges in court. It was subsequently imposed on her 12-year prison sentence in a penal colony. AFP reminds that he is in Russian prisons multiple Americans or persons with dual citizenship. In this context, Washington accuses Moscow of arresting Americans on the basis of baseless accusationsso that she could later exchange them for Russians convicted abroad.
