By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers
LA ballerina Freed in US, Russia Prisoner
Swap
A ballet dancer from Los Angeles who has been in
prison in Russia for donating 51$ to a charity providing aid to Ukraine has
been freed in a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia.
Ksenia Karelina’s case adds
to the growing number of "wrongful detentions," which guides the U.S.
government’s response to Americans detained abroad under politically charged
circumstances.
In total, she paid $51.80 to the New York-based
humanitarian group Razom for
Ukraine, a nonprofit
dedicated to providing aid to children and elderly people in Ukraine.
“I am overjoyed to
hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina is on
her way home from wrongful detention in Russia,” Karelina’s
fiancé, Chris van Heerden, said in a statement. “She has endured a nightmare
for 15 months and I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly
awaiting her return.”
This photo released
by the state-run WAM news agency shows U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina getting on a private jet after her release at an
airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday.
Arthur Petrov, a dual Russian-German citizen, was also freed in the
exchange. He was accused by the U.S. Justice Department of setting up an
elaborate smuggling ring to procure microelectronics subject to U.S. export
controls on behalf of a Russia-based supplier of critical electronic components
for the country’s weapons industries. He was facing
a 20-year prison term in
the U.S on charges related to export control violations, smuggling, wire fraud,
and money laundering.
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