A Russian court in Yekaterinburg has sentenced dual U.S.-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina to 12 years in prison after convicting her of treason for transferring $51 to a Ukrainian aid charity in early 2022.
The verdict was rendered on August 15 by Sverdlovsk regional court Judge Andrei Mineyev after prosecutors had sought a 15-year prison term for Karelina, who is also known by her marital surname Khavana.
Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, said his client admitted making the donation, but planned to appeal the verdict.
The verdict came one day after a Moscow court gave a U.S. citizen identified as Joseph Tater a 15-day jail term for "petty hooliganism."
Karelina, 33, moved to the United States in 2015, married a U.S. citizen, and received U.S. citizenship in 2021.
The U.S. State Department is aware of Karelina’s verdict, spokesman Vedant Patel said, adding that Russia "has a track record of…not recognizing their (dual nationals') American citizen status and frankly being uncooperative when it comes to…meeting their obligations under consular conventions."
She was arrested in Yekaterinburg in January on suspicion of petty hooliganism.
On February 7, however, treason charges were filed against her after investigators learned that on the second day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, she had transferred $51 to Razom, a Ukrainian aid group that helps civilians affected by the war.
Patel reiterated that donating to a nonprofit, NGO, or supporting the Ukrainian cause and its people, especially on American soil, is not a crime. Patel also strongly condemn the Kremlin's "escalating domestic repression."
Lawyer Mushailov said prosecutors found evidence of the donation on her mobile phone.
In February, Razom co-founder Dora Chomiak appealed to the U.S. government to "continue doing everything possible to demand that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin free all those unjustly detained in Russia."
Mineyev was the same judge who in July sentenced U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison on espionage charges.
The Wall Street Journal correspondent was then included in a large prisoner exchange on August 1 that also included RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and several imprisoned Russian dissidents.
SEE ALSO: Who Are The 24 Prisoners Who Were Swapped In U.S.-Russia Deal?According to rights groups, nearly 900 Russians have been convicted of treason, espionage, or cooperation with foreign governments since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.