A woman has been jailed in Russia for 12 years after she gave £40 to a charity supporting Ukraine.
US-Russia citizen Ksenia Karelina was accused of treason when she was arrested in Yekaterinburg, in southwestern Russia, in February.
The 33-year-old admitted the charge at a closed trial in the city earlier this month, according to Russian news agencies.
Karelina, an amateur ballerina, was born in Russia but reportedly obtained US citizenship by marrying an American and moving to Los Angeles, where she worked in a spa.
Investigators brought the treason charge after searching her mobile phone and discovering that she made a $51 (£40) donation to Razom, a charity that provides aid to Ukraine.
Karelina had been visiting family in Russia when she was arrested, according to rights group The First Department.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed she had proactively collected the money in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organisations before it jailed her.
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It claimed the donation was “used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces”.
Vladimir Putin’s government has noticeably cracked down on dissent and criticism of the war since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
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