Russian Justice endorses the 12-year prison sentence against an American accused of raising funds for Ukraine

MADRID 11 Nov. () –

An appeals court in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg has ratified this Monday the twelve-year prison sentence imposed last August against Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American citizen accused of treason for raising funds for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the framework of the invasion.

The Russian Justice has reported that Karelina will also have to pay the 300,000 rubles (about 3,000 euros) fine that was included in the sentence. Thus, he has confirmed that the appeal presented by the defense lawyers has been completely rejected, so the sentence “has come into force” this Monday.

The sentence also includes measures to restrict movement for a year and a half, once the prison sentence has been completed. According to the Sverdlovsk court that handed down the sentence, the accused has acknowledged her guilt in the acts of which she was accused, the Interfax agency reports.

Her lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, has stated that he will try to ensure that Karelina, 33, is exchanged for other prisoners imprisoned on US soil. The accused was detained in Yekaterinburg and, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, had been providing economic assistance to kyiv since February 2022 through an organization.

On the other hand, people close to him have assured that he simply donated a little more than 50 dollars (46.8 euros) to an aid organization.