Russian prosecutors seek 15-year treason sentence for US citizen Karelina

YEKATERINBURG, Russia (Reuters) -Russian prosecutors on Thursday demanded a 15-year sentence for Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American woman accused of treason for making a donation of just over $50 to a charity supporting Ukraine.

The Los Angeles spa employee has pleaded guilty at her trial in the city of Yekaterinburg. The court press service said she made a closing plea to the judge on Thursday and would be sentenced on Aug. 15.

Karelina was not included in a major prisoner swap between Russia and the West last week, but her lawyer Mikhail Mushailov said she hoped to be included in a future exchange.

"An exchange is impossible until the court verdict comes into force," Mushailov told reporters. "After the verdict, of course, we will work in this direction."

Karelina was born in Russia but emigrated to the United States in 2012 and became a U.S. citizen in 2021. She was arrested by the FSB security service after flying to Russia to visit her family in Yekaterinburg at the start of the year.

Investigators brought the treason charge after discovering on her mobile phone that she had donated $51.80 to Razom, a charity that provides aid to Ukraine, when Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022. The FSB alleged that the ultimate beneficiary was the Ukrainian army.

The charity has said it was "appalled" by Karelina's arrest. Its website says it supports a range of humanitarian projects including the supply of first aid kits, wood stoves, generators, radios and vehicles to frontline Ukrainian medics.

It also helps Ukrainian children and vulnerable communities affected by the war, including by providing food, shelter, psychological support and clean water.

Journalists were barred from the courtroom during Karelina's trial, which is standard procedure for treason or espionage cases in Russia.

Mushailov said the prosecutors' request for 15 years in a penal colony was too harsh because Karelina had cooperated with the investigation, including by voluntarily giving up her phone.

He said she had pleaded guilty in the hope of getting a lower sentence, and because "it was stupid in this situation to deny the obvious".

Three American citizens - journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva and former Marine Paul Whelan - were among those freed from Russian jails in last week's East-West exchange, which involved 24 prisoners held in seven countries.

Karelina is among a group of Americans still held in Russia on a variety of charges. They include Gordon Black, a soldier sentenced to three years and nine months in June for assaulting and stealing from his Russian girlfriend, and Marc Fogel, a former teacher serving a 14-year sentence after being caught with marijuana that he said he used to treat pain.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Conor Humphries)