NO JUSTICE
Putin jails US ballerina Ksenia Karelina for 12 YEARS after she gave just £40 to a pro-Ukraine charity in Russia
Karelina was convicted in the same court as WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich
A US ballerina has been imprisoned by Russia for 12 years after she donated just £40 to a pro-Ukraine charity.
Ksenia Karelina, 33, was sentenced today by a Russian court after investigators found she had sent the money in 2022.
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The Los Angeles resident pleaded guilty at her closed trial in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg last week.
Her case was heard by the same court that wrongfully convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich of espionage in July.
Ballerina and aesthetician Karelina was visiting family in Russia in January when she was snatched by the FSB and
She was later seen in footage released by Russia handcuffed and with a beanie over her eyes as she awaited a hearing.
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Russia viewed the charity she donated to as helping the Ukrainian military and vowed to arrest anyone for treason if they contributed.
Since invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has sharply cracked down on dissent and has passed laws that criminalize criticism of it.
Concern has risen since then that Russia could be targeting U.S. nationals for arrest.
Karelina became a citizen in 2021 and had been living in Los Angeles, before her arrest.
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Charity organization Razom said it was "appalled" to learn about Karelina's arrest.
The ballerina's boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, told the BBC when she was detained that she was proud to be Russian.
WSJ's Evan Gershkovich holds US flag after release from jail in prisoner swap 491 DAYS after wrongful arrest in Russia
He'd bought her a plane ticket to see her parents and little sister in Russia as a gift and she told him at the time that the trip would be safe.
Van Heerden, a professional boxer from , has been campaigning for the US to help free Karelina.
Political scientist Fyodor Krasheninnikov claimed: “She probably supported Ukraine a couple of times on social networks, maybe she collected something there.
“If you participated in any anti-war protests, wrote something on social networks, or, especially, donated to Ukrainians or encouraged them to do this, think a hundred times.
“Do you really need to go to Russia urgently? A second passport will not save you from anything.”
Karelina's sentencing comes two weeks after wrongfully detained Western prisoners were swapped for Russian crooks.
Putin traded WSJ reporter Evan, along with former US marine Paul Whelan and British-Russian journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza.
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A total of 24 prisoners were involved in the deal, 16 freed from Russian prisons and eight released from six other countries back to Russia.
The Russians received assassin Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence for the murder of a Chechen rebel leader in Berlin.
Timeline of Evan Gershkovich's detainment
FALSELY jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained on baseless accusations of espionage in March 2023.
Here is a timeline of key events:
Russia's security service, the FSB, charged him with espionage - a charge that he, the WSJ and the US government deny.
They argued - without evidence - that he collected “information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
Day 12: April 10, 2023 - The US designated Gershkovich wrongfully detained and launched effort on Russia to free him.
Day 20: April 18, 2023 - A Moscow court upheld his pre-trial detention, denied him bail and ordered him to be held in the capital's infamous Lefortovo prison.
Day 55: May 23, 2023 - Gershkovich's detention was extended until at least August 30.
His parents, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, travelled to the hearing and said "any parents who loves their kid would travel to the end of the world to be with them for give minutes."
Day 76: June 13, 2023 - The White House called on Russia to immediately free Gershkovich and also free former US marine Paul Whelan, who was convicted of espionage in 2020.
Day 85: June 22, 2023 - A Moscow court upheld the extension of Gershkovich's detention until at least August 30.
Day 100: July 7, 2023 - The world's press stood for solidarity with the reporter as his shameful detention reached 100 days.
Day 174: September, 19, 2023 - Gershkovich had another appeal for freedom blocked.
Day 195: October 10, 2023 - The US reporter had yet another appeal denied which would see his detention extended until at least November 30.
Day 244: November 28, 2023 - A court ruled Gershkovich would remain in pre-trial detention until at least January 30.
Day 303: January 26, 2024 - The innocent journalist's time behind bars was extended until the end of March.
Day 316: February 8, 2024 - Vladimir Putin tells US TV host Tucker Carlson a deal could be reached between Russia and the US over Gershkovich.
Day 363: March 26, 2024: Gershkovich's detention will drag on until June 30 as he nears one year behind bars.
Day 442: June 13, 2024: Russian authorities announce he will stand trial over bogus accusations that the reporter was spying for the CIA.
Day 455: June 26, 2024: Closed-door sham trial begins in Yekaterinburg at the Sverdlovsk courthouse with Evan appearing inside a glass cage.
Day 478: July 19, 2024: Evan is sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison.
Day 491: August 1, 2024: Evan is released as part of a historic prisoner exchange deal between Russia and the West.
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