A twin US-Russian citizen, 33-year-old ballerina Ksenia Karelina, has been detained in Russia on suspicion of treason. Moscow officers declare she donated $51 to Ukraine’s conflict effort by the Ukrainian group Razom, allegedly benefiting the nation’s military. Ms Karelina appeared in court docket blindfolded and shackled, as reported by Business Insider. 

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed, “Since February 2022, she has been proactively collecting funds in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organizations, which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine items, equipment, weapons and ammunition by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

“In addition, the citizen in question repeatedly took part in public actions in support of the Kyiv regime while in the United States,” the company added, based on the Moscow Times.

Ms Karelina, who manages a spa in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, reportedly confronted her first arrest on January 27 in Yekaterinburg, her hometown. The native police accused her of “petty hooliganism” associated to using offensive language in public. Court officers reported that Ms Karelina was utilizing coarse language, and behaving rudely and defiantly within the presence of different residents. When the police had been referred to as, Ms Karelina allegedly turned extra agitated, ignored their instructions, and resisted arrest violently.

Following this, on January 29, she was discovered responsible of hooliganism and obtained a 14-day jail sentence. Despite submitting a grievance about her arrest the subsequent day, the court docket rejected it. Subsequently, she confronted expenses below Article 275 of Russia’s Criminal Code, carrying a possible sentence starting from 12 years to life imprisonment.

Ms Karelina’s former mother-in-law, Eleonora Srebroski, instructed the NY Post, “We are all in shock. She is just a wonderful soul. She would never do anything evil to anyone.” “Knowing Ksenia, she would never do anything criminal. Her mom and dad had recently divorced and she wanted to see the family,” mentioned Ms Srebroski. “She was supposed to be back by now. My son was calling her, and when we found out what had happened, we have all been in shock. He told me this morning ‘let’s think what we can do to help her.’ We don’t want to cause her any trouble.” 

Ksenia Karelina now faces treason expenses for allegedly transferring $51.80 from a US checking account to Razom. The organisation states its mission as “contributing to the establishment of a secure, prosperous, and democratic Ukraine,” based on data accessible on its web site.

Treason accusations in Russia carry extreme penalties, with heavy jail phrases being imposed. Since 2023, a complete of 63 folks have confronted prosecution on expenses of treason, and 37 of them have been discovered responsible.