Arrested in Russia: American woman faces treason charges for charity donation

The 33-year-old Russian woman with an American passport flew to Russia in January to visit her grandparents. The visit was suggested by her boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden. In an interview with CNN, he mentioned purchasing the tickets to Russia as her birthday present.

Van Heerden did not anticipate that the trip, for which he had bought his girlfriend tickets, would turn into a nightmare. Ksenia Karelina was detained in Yekaterinburg in January for a minor "petty hooliganism." Investigators confiscated her phone but subsequently released her. When she was called back to retrieve her phone, the 33-year-old was detained again, and the charges were changed from a hooligan act to treason.

Her trial began on Thursday, 20th June. She is accused of donating approximately £42 to a Ukrainian charity organisation in the USA.

"America will bring her back to me,” said Van Heerden.

Karelina had been living in Los Angeles for several years. She trained in ballet as an amateur and worked at a spa in Beverly Hills. Since the end of January, she has been in custody in Russia. Her trial is being held behind closed doors.

With the permission of the Yekaterinburg court, a short video from the court was published, showing Karelina sitting in a glass cage. The 33-year-old was dressed in jeans and a green plaid shirt. She smiled sadly as reporters took photographs.

The woman has few reasons to be happy. Her case is being taken very seriously in Russia. Acquittals are rare there. If found guilty, she faces a sentence ranging from twelve years to life imprisonment.

Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov told CNN that the Russian security service aims to "build up a bank of hostages with American passports." This way, Moscow could use them as "bargaining chips" in negotiations with Washington.