August 13, 2024

Prison for a $51 Donation


Prison for a $51 Donation
Uncomfortable surroundings. The Russian Life files

Ksenia Khavana, a dual US-Russian citizen, is being tried for treason in Sverdlovsk Regional Court over a $51 donation to a Ukrainian charity in 2022. State prosecutors have asked for a sentence of 15 years in a penal colony.

Khavana, who lives in Los Angeles and returned to visit relatives in Yekaterinburg in January 2024, was arrested on charges of "petty hooliganism." While detained on these charges, the state added charges of treason. The judge hearing this case, Andrei Mineyev, recently sentenced another American citizen, Evan Gershkovich, to 16 years in prison. 

Khavana received her US citizenship in 2021.

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