US ballerina jailed in Russia for sending $50 to charity supporting Ukraine

Hopes rest on prisoner swap after court imposes 12-year sentence in penal colony for high treason

A US ballerina has been jailed for 12 years in Russia for sending $51 (£39) to a charity supporting Ukraine.
Ksenia Karelina, 33, was sentenced after pleading guilty in a trial behind closed doors.
Karelina, who has Russian and American citizenship, was arrested while visiting her family earlier this year in Yekaterinburg, about 1,000 miles east of Moscow.
Investigators seized her phone and found that she had donated the money to Razom, a charity that provides aid to Ukraine, from her American bank account on the first day of Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Russia’s FSB security service accused Razom of providing arms to Ukraine, a claim the New York-based charity denies.
It said Karelina “proactively collected money in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organisations, which was subsequently used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces”.
Karelina was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony for high treason by the court in Yekaterinburg.
Prosecutors had sought a 15-year jail term.
Earlier this year, Razom  (Together in Ukrainian) said it was “appalled” by the amateur ballerina’s arrest and firmly denied any involvement in raising funds for weapons or ammunition.
Karelina’s lawyer Mikhail Mushailov said her client believed the funds were intended to aid victims on both sides and that she plans to appeal the sentence.
Karelina gained US citizenship in 2021 after marrying an American and relocating to Los Angeles, where she worked at a spa.
She went on trial last month in the same court where The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich had been prosecuted for espionage.
Mr Gershkovich was released earlier this month as part of a historic prisoner swap that involved 24 individuals between Russia, the US and several other nations.
Mr Mushailov said Karelina’s legal team is trying to secure her inclusion in a future prisoner swap.
Her partner, Chris van Heerden, 36, has said that he has faith that “America will bring her back” and has campaigned for her release.
Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s regime has cracked down on dissent.
More than 1,000 criminal cases have been initiated against anti-war activists, according to human right organisations.