US-Russian lady was jailed for 12 years in Russia for treason

An amateur ballerina, Ksenia Karelina, has been handed a 12-year prison sentence by a Russian court.

Her crime? Donating $51 (£39) to a charity supporting Ukraine is deemed treason.

Last week, Karelina, who holds both American and Russian citizenship, pleaded guilty after a trial that took place in private.

Ksenia Karelina, a resident of Los Angeles, recently obtained US citizenship in 2021. In January of last year, she was apprehended while visiting her family in Yekaterinburg, which is located approximately 1,600km (1,000 miles) east of Moscow.

The prosecutors had requested a 15-year prison sentence. A court in Yekaterinburg has convicted her of high treason and handed down a sentence of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.