Russia’s essential safety company mentioned on Tuesday that it had arrested a twin citizen of Russia and the US on accusations of committing state treason by elevating funds for Ukraine.
The Federal Safety Service, often called the F.S.B., recognized the detainee as a 33-year-old lady who lives in Los Angeles. It mentioned in a press release that she had raised cash for a Ukrainian group that purchased weapons and different gear for Ukraine’s navy.
Perviy Otdel, a gaggle of Russian attorneys who concentrate on circumstances involving accusations of treason and different politically charged allegations, mentioned that the girl 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. mentioned that the girl had been arrested within the metropolis of Yekaterinburg in central Russia. RIA Novosti, a Russian state information company, revealed a video that it mentioned confirmed the girl, sporting a white hat that coated her eyes, being handcuffed and escorted by masked safety service officers.
If convicted, she may withstand 20 years in jail.
The detention of Americans on Russian soil in recent times has raised suspicions that the Kremlin views them as precious property to be traded for high-profile Russians held in custody in the US and different Western international locations.
On the identical day that the girl’s arrest was introduced, a Moscow courtroom rejected an attraction by Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Road Journal whom Russia arrested final spring on an espionage cost, to raise 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 a minimum of till the tip of March.
The variety of state treason circumstances in Russia has been rising steadily since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Final yr, about 50 folks have been accused of the offense, in keeping with Perviy Otdel, starting from high-profile critics of the Kremlin to a scholar accused of photographing Russian Military formations in his city.
A courtroom in Yekaterinburg was scheduled to listen to an attraction by the newly arrested lady on Tuesday, in keeping with the courtroom’s web site, which additionally mentioned that she was accused of treason.
The Russian information outlet Media Zona recognized her as Ksenia Karelina. Perviy Otdel recognized her as Ksenia (Karelina) Khavana, with Karelina doubtless being her maiden identify.
Based on Ms. Karelina’s profile on VK, a Russian social community, she acquired United States citizenship in 2021. Her profile, which additionally recognized her as a scholar on the College of Maryland in Baltimore, mentioned that she had graduated from Urals Federal College in Yekaterinburg in 2014.
Perviy Otdel mentioned that the girl was arrested on the finish of January and accused of treason on Feb. 7.