Russia’s important safety company stated on Tuesday that it had arrested a twin citizen of Russia and the United States on accusations of committing state treason by elevating funds for Ukraine.
The Federal Security Service, generally known as the F.S.B., recognized the detainee as a 33-year-old girl who lives in Los Angeles. It stated in an announcement that she had raised cash for a Ukrainian group that purchased weapons and different gear for Ukraine’s army.
Perviy Otdel, a gaggle of Russian legal professionals who specialise in instances involving accusations of treason and different politically charged allegations, stated that the lady had been accused of treason for sending simply over $50 to Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based nonprofit group that sends help to the nation.
The F.S.B. stated that the lady had been arrested within the metropolis of Yekaterinburg in central Russia. RIA Novosti, a Russian state news company, printed a video that it stated confirmed the lady, carrying a white hat that lined her eyes, being handcuffed and escorted by masked safety service officers.
If convicted, she may withstand 20 years in jail.
The detention of American residents on Russian soil in recent times has raised suspicions that the Kremlin views them as priceless belongings to be traded for high-profile Russians held in custody within the United States and different Western international locations.
On the identical day that the lady’s arrest was introduced, a Moscow court docket rejected an attraction by Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal whom Russia arrested final spring on an espionage cost, to elevate his pretrial detention. It dominated that Mr. Gershkovich — who, alongside together with his employer and the American authorities, has denied the cost towards him — should keep in jail at the least till the top of March.
The variety of state treason instances in Russia has been rising steadily since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Last yr, about 50 folks had been accused of the offense, in keeping with Perviy Otdel, starting from high-profile critics of the Kremlin to a pupil accused of photographing Russian Army formations in his city.
A court docket in Yekaterinburg was scheduled to listen to an attraction by the newly arrested girl on Tuesday, in keeping with the court docket’s web site, which additionally stated that she was accused of treason.
The Russian news outlet Media Zona recognized her as Ksenia Karelina. Perviy Otdel recognized her as Ksenia (Karelina) Khavana, with Karelina seemingly being her maiden identify.
According to Ms. Karelina’s profile on VK, a Russian social community, she obtained United States citizenship in 2021. Her profile, which additionally recognized her as a pupil on the University of Maryland in Baltimore, stated that she had graduated from Urals Federal University in Yekaterinburg in 2014.
Perviy Otdel stated that the lady was arrested on the finish of January and accused of treason on Feb. 7.
Source: www.nytimes.com