US citizen jailed in Russia for treason after donating $51 to charity supporting Ukraine

A Russian court has sentenced amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina to 12 years imprisonment for treason, BBC reports.

The development followed the decision of the convict to donate $51 (£39) to a charity supporting Ukraine.

Karelina was said to have pleaded guilty last week after a trial that held behind closed doors.

Ksenia Karelina has American and Russian citizenship. She was living in Los Angeles and became a United States citizen in 2021.

According to BBC, she was arrested during a family visit in January 2024 in Yekaterinburg, about 1,600km, 1,000 miles east of Moscow.

Prosecutors had sought a 15-year jail term. The court in Yekaterinburg found her guilty of high treason and sentenced her to imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.