Russia’s main security services have arrested a dual Russian-American citizen on suspicion of committing high treason for donating money to an appeal to help Ukraine.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) identified the detainee as a 33-year-old woman from Los Angeles. new york times report.
The FSB stated: statement She claimed to have been raising money for a Ukrainian organization that buys weapons and other equipment for the Ukrainian military.
Russian news agency Media Zona identified her The role of Ksenia Karelina. She is reportedly 33 years old and lives in Los Angeles.
The NYT report added:
Perviy Otder, a group of Russian lawyers specializing in cases involving treason and other political accusations, said the woman was a member of Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based nonprofit organization that is sending money. He said he was charged with treason for sending more than $50 to the United States. Aid to the country.
Meanwhile, the FSB announced that the detained woman was arrested in the central Russian city of Yekaterinburg. She was reportedly in her countryside visiting her parents.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti released a video purporting to show a woman wearing a white hat covering her eyes being handcuffed and being escorted away by masked security officials.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
A court in Yekaterinburg was scheduled to hear the newly arrested woman’s appeal on Tuesday. According to the court’s websitealso said she was charged with treason.
Russia has a recent history of detaining and imprisoning American citizens on a variety of charges.
Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine held in Russia, was arrested in December 2018 and is serving a 16-year sentence for espionage, a charge he and the U.S. government deny.
American journalist Evan Gershkovich is also detained in Russia.
Correspondent Gershkovich wall street journalHe was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals region.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovitch rides a bus as he is escorted by police from the Lefortovsky courtroom on Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Moscow, Russia.(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlyanichenko)
He is the first Western journalist since Soviet times to be charged with espionage by Russia, a charge vehemently denied by Mr. Gershkovitch, his employer and the U.S. government.
AP Note Some analysts believe that Russia may be using the imprisoned American as a bargaining chip after Russia sent troops into Ukraine and tensions between the United States and Russia escalated. There is.
At least two Americans have been arrested in Russia in recent years. WNBA star Brittney Greinerwas exchanged for a Russian imprisoned in the United States.
