Russia seeks 15-year sentence for woman who donated $52 to Ukrainian charity

[TaylorSwift 162,467]

Russian prosecutors on Thursday demanded a 15-year sentence for Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American woman accused of treason for making a donation of just over $50 to a charity supporting Ukraine.

The Los Angeles spa employee has pleaded guilty at her trial in Yekaterinburg. She made a closing plea to the judge on Thursday and would be sentenced on Aug. 15.

Karelina was not included in a major prisoner swap last week. "An exchange is impossible until the court verdict comes into force" her lawyer told reporters. 

Karelina's lawyer said the prosecutors' request for a 15-year sentence in a penal colony was too severe as the defendant had cooperated with the investigation.

Karelina was born in Russia but emigrated to the United States in 2012 and became a US citizen in 2021.
She was arrested by the FSB security service after flying to Russia to visit her family in Yekaterinburg at the start of this year.

Investigators brought the treason charge after discovering on her mobile phone that she had donated $51.80 to Razom, a charity that provides aid to Ukraine in 2022. The FSB alleged that the ultimate beneficiary was the Ukrainian army.

Karelina's boyfriend, Chris Van Deerden, said that he bought her a ticket to her home country as a birthday gift.  He said she was "proud to be Russian" - and had remained confident that she could travel in the country.
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[RAMROD 117,074]

News likes these worries me and reminds me with admin, wherever he is currently 

[palma 8,909]

This is so f***ed up.

[CannaeDrive 3,412]

I really dont understand these people throwing themselves voluntarily into the lions den. If you are from a western country that supports Ukraine, you just dont travel to Russia, because you are automatically hostage fodder for Putins Mafia regime.

[Horny Chicken 10,935]

6 hours ago, CannaeDrive said:

I really dont understand these people throwing themselves voluntarily into the lions den. If you are from a western country that supports Ukraine, you just dont travel to Russia, because you are automatically hostage fodder for Putins Mafia regime.

I’m in Finland right now and a lot of Russians STILL think they can enter and leave their country with no repercussions.  

The Finnish government even had to issue a warning: if you have Russian citizenship, be aware that you may not be allowed to leave Russia should you choose to return. 

Also, they can’t cross the border so they have to go through Belarus or something. As if that isn’t enough of a red flag. 

[Sarah H 4,376]

2 hours ago, RAMROD said:

News likes these worries me and reminds me with admin, wherever he is currently 

Agreed. I'm sure he had a Ukraine fundraising link in his IG bio at one point 

[androiduser 7,438]

I demand a life imprisonment for heterosexuals and homophobes who support wars