Politics Russia: 12 years in prison for US citizen for helping Ukraine

A court in Yekaterinburg in the Urals has sentenced a young woman with US and Russian citizenship to twelve years in prison for alleged treason.

The sentence was handed down because the woman, who lives in Los Angeles (California), is alleged to have collected money for a Ukrainian organization and thus worked against Russia's security. The woman is alleged to have collected donations for an organization that subsequently purchased material for the Ukrainian armed forces.

The woman's lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, told the Russian news agency Interfax that he intends to appeal the verdict. He also contradicted the court's statement that his client had fully admitted her guilt. Instead, she only admitted to having transferred money without being aware of the anti-Russian purpose.

The FSB domestic intelligence service reported the arrest of the then 33-year-old in February, but did not present any evidence. According to the FSB statement, the money was used to buy medical supplies, equipment and ammunition. In the USA, the woman had repeatedly taken part in "public actions in support of the Kiev regime".

US citizens were recently released in prisoner exchanges

Russia is repeatedly criticized in the USA for deliberately persecuting and detaining citizens of the country in order to exchange them for prisoners. Kremlin critics accuse the Moscow power apparatus of "hostage-taking" - with the aim of freeing Russian prisoners abroad. Moscow, in turn, accuses Washington of arresting Russians all over the world and extraditing them to the USA, who would then also be used as bargaining chips for an exchange.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin last released imprisoned Russian criminals in the USA on August 1 through an exchange with Americans, including journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was convicted of espionage. As part of a prisoner exchange involving seven countries, including Germany, the so-called Tiergarten murderer convicted in Berlin was also released.

It was only on Wednesday that the Russian security authorities arrested a US citizen in Moscow on charges of using violence against a policewoman. He was initially sentenced to 15 days in custody, but further proceedings are still pending. In addition to hooliganism, the American is also facing criminal proceedings for violence against a representative of state authority.