Due to charges arising from her donation of approximately $52 to a charity supporting Ukraine, US-Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana was found guilty of treason on Thursday in a Russian court and given a 12-year prison sentence.
Khavana, whose maiden name is Ksenia Karelina according to Russian authorities, was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg in February and entered a guilty plea last week during a closed trial, according to news reports.
Khavana, a 33-year-old former ballet dancer, is said to have married an American and relocated to Los Angeles to obtain US citizenship. She was back in Russia to spend time with her family.
Following her arrival in Yekaterinburg in January, her phone was reportedly confiscated, and police discovered evidence of the donation. Not long before her scheduled departure, she was arrested for minor hooliganism and held in jail for fifteen days before being accused of treason.
According to the Russian Federal Security Service, she “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.”
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