Ms Karelina’s sentence mirrors several cases of Western citizens being convicted of minor misdemeanours.
Ksenia Karelina, a dual citizen of Russia and the United States, has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for sending $52 to Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based non-profit organisation known to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine from time to time.
Ms Karelina, 32, was found guilty of treason after the court based in Yekaterinburg said that the funds “were subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition” for Ukraine, according to the New York Times.
Ms Karelina, who obtained her U.S. citizenship in 2021, was arrested in February when she travelled to Yekaterinburg.
Her trial commenced on June 20.
Razom for Ukraine stressed that the group only provided humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine.
“We are a New York-based non-profit providing humanitarian aid and assistance to Ukraine. We do not provide weapons to Ukraine’s military,” The Times quoted a spokesperson for the non-profit group on Thursday.
Although the chances of a successful appeal were slim, Mikhail Mushailov, the lawyer representing Ms Karelina, said he would appeal the imprisonment to at least reduce the sentence.
He also said he would do everything legally possible to ensure she was selected for a future prisoner swap between the U.S. government and Ukraine.
“I was not surprised by the prison sentence or the way the trial was conducted,” Mr Mushailov to The Times. He also said details of the trial were classified.
Ms Karelina’s sentence mirrors several cases of Western citizens being convicted of minor misdemeanours.
One such instance was Evan Gershkovic, a Wall Street Journal reporter, who was accused of spying for the U.S. and languished in a Russian prison for more than a year.
Mr Gershkovic was handed a 16-year jail term until the U.S. government was able to secure his release in a storied prisoner swap on August 1.
