American woman faces treason charges after charity donation in Russia

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

Van Heerden did not anticipate that the trip he had planned as a thoughtful gift would turn into a nightmare. Ksenia Karelina was detained in Yekaterinburg in January for a "hooligan act." 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, June 20. She is accused of donating $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity organization in the USA.

I believe 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 situation looks grim. Her case is being taken very seriously in Russia. Acquittals are rare there. She faces a sentence ranging from 12 years to life imprisonment if found guilty.

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 "leverage" in negotiations with Washington.