The Russian prosecutor’s office has requested a 15-year prison sentence for Ksenia Karelina, a 33-year-old Russian-American citizen, accused of “high treason” by the FSB, Russia’s security service.
Ksenia Karelina, a US resident since 2021, is currently on trial in the Yekaterinburg regional court in the Urals. The young woman, who pleaded guilty at a closed hearing on August 7, is accused of having made a donation of 47.45 euros ($51.80) to a Ukrainian foundation. The verdict is expected on August 15.
The Ksenia Karelina case illustrates the arbitrariness that reigns in Russia. Employed in a beauty salon in Los Angeles and married to an American, she returned to Russia on January 17 to visit her family in Yekaterinburg, her hometown. However, as soon as he arrived at the airport, customs officials seized his phone and discovered a bank transfer made on February 24, 2022, the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in favor of the Razom for Ukraine foundation, a charity supporting Ukrainian civilians. A few days after her arrival, she was summoned to the police station, where she was sentenced to two weeks’ detention for “disturbing the peace”, the authorities accusing her of uttering insults in public. This type of accusation, often used by the Russian justice system, enables an individual to be held in custody while investigators prepare additional charges. Since 2022, charges of high treason have been multiplying in Russia, a worrying trend that includes the case of Ksenia Karelina.
Two weeks after her arrest on February 20, Ksenia Karelina, then held incommunicado by the FSB, had her case made public. A video showing her handcuffed was released, along with a statement accusing her of “raising funds for the Ukrainian armed forces” and participating in pro-Ukrainian demonstrations in the United States. These accusations go far beyond the mere insults initially levelled at her. Faced with these charges of high treason, Ksenia Karelina now faces between twelve years and life imprisonment, a sentence made possible by a recent revision of the Russian penal code, which raised the maximum sentence from twenty years to life imprisonment for this type of offence. For its part, Razom for Ukraine has denied any connection with fund-raising for the Ukrainian army, stating that its only military aid is the supply of first-aid kits to medics on the front line. However, these details seem unimportant to Russian justice, which is stepping up convictions even for symbolic actions such as posting on social networks or wearing a T-shirt in Ukrainian colors.
Ksenia Karelina’s imminent conviction sends a clear message to Russian citizens abroad: the FSB keeps a close eye on the activities of opponents of the regime, wherever they may be. Judge Andrei Mineev, who is presiding over the trial, is the same judge who sentenced American journalist Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal to sixteen years in prison for espionage last July, paving the way for a possible prisoner exchange between Russia and the West. Ksenia Karelina also hopes to benefit from such an exchange, according to her lawyer.
