EU condemns Russia's sentencing of woman over US$51 donation to help Ukraine

Nabila Massrali, spokesperson for the European External Action Service, has condemned a Russian court giving a 12-year prison sentence to Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina for donating US$51 to support Ukraine.

Source: Massrali on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: The EU representative said Karelina's 12-year sentence for donating to a Ukrainian non-governmental organisation is "shocking".

"The EU calls on Russia to release all prisoners of conscience and stop repression against anti-war protesters," Massrali added.

Background: 

• Earlier, a Russian court sentenced Ksenia Karelina to 12 years in prison for high treason after she donated US$51 to a charity supporting Ukraine.
• Karelina, who lives in Los Angeles and became a US citizen in 2021, was arrested in January 2023 while visiting family in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
• She pleaded guilty last week after a closed-door hearing.
• Karelina went on trial in June in the same Russian court that tried Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was jailed for espionage but released in early August as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States and other Western countries.

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