Russian-American Ksenia Karelina prepares to appeal to her Sentenced to 12 years in a Russian penal colony After pleading guilty to treason on Thursday, her boyfriend, Chris van Heerden, struggles with the harsh reality of her situation.
“How did I get here? How did I get here Ksenia?” He responded to Thursday’s conviction during an exclusive interview with “CBS Mornings” co-anchor Gayle King.
Russia convicted Karelin of treason
Karelin was sentenced earlier this month after pleading guilty to treason. She was arrested Earlier this year, while on a trip to Russia, he donated about $51 to a US-based humanitarian group helping war-affected Ukrainians, Russian state media reported.
His lawyers said that while he did not admit to knowingly sending money to organizations that were used for anti-Russian activities, he did admit to diverting the funds. She didn’t expect her donation to end up supporting anti-Russian efforts.
According to van Heerden, his 2022 donation to Ukraine, which was legal under US law, was later used as evidence to charge him with treason under a law passed by Russia in 2023.
She was “exercising her First Amendment rights. She did nothing wrong,” he said.
“She wanted to go home”
Van Heerden said he was worried about Karelina’s decision to return to Russia this year, given the ongoing war with Russia. Ukraine. But he said she “didn’t have a worry in the world,” assuring him that she would be safe entering the country as a dual American-Russian citizen.
“She wanted to go home. She made it very clear that she wanted to go home,” Van Heerden told King.
Ksenia was sure there was no danger, especially since she hadn’t been following the news closely, and Van Heerden admitted she wasn’t either. Wanting to fulfill her wish to go home, he bought her a plane ticket as a birthday present in December. The couple flew to Istanbul for New Years. From there he is going to travel with her to Russia, but he is not comfortable. So, she went to Russia alone and he returned to Los Angeles.
The trouble started when Karelin arrived in Russia, van Heerden said. He said he was detained at the airport and interrogated for 12 to 16 hours.
Van Heerden tries to understand how the Russian authorities knew about Karelin’s donation. He recalls a strange conversation at the airport in Istanbul when Karelin was preparing to fly to Russia. A Russian airline employee double-checked his details and asked if he was traveling on a different passport, which made the situation seem suspicious.
After confirming that Karelin was also an American citizen, they allowed her to board the plane, but upon arrival in Russia, she was detained, interrogated and later arrested.
Van Heerden said he struggles to keep his emotions in check as he struggles with the injustice of the situation.
“Why are we in this position?” “Ksenia should be at home, I’m angry,” Van Heerden said.
Begging America to help bring Karela home
Regarding the US State Department’s involvement, van Heerden said he had not heard much from the agency and had limited access to Karelin during the eight months she was detained. He questioned why he was not involved this month Prisoner exchange Three Americans, including a Wall Street Journal reporter Ivan GershkovichFormer Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Also Kurmasheva – Issued by Russia.
“For the last eight months I’ve been pushing, I’ve been pushing for a false detention, so that when we’re transferred to the prison, the Xenas on that list have priority,” he said. “I was slow. I was told we had time. I was told, ‘Chris, don’t worry’. There won’t be a prison transfer until after the election or early next year, but I was pushed back, and two weeks ago Ksenia was gone.”
Van Heerden said he could communicate with Karelina through letters, although he knew they were being monitored by Russian authorities. In the last eight months, they exchanged letters twice a month. He said he believed Karelina’s situation was unnecessary and questioned why she had not yet been officially wrongfully detained, given her 12-year prison sentence.
Now, he is calling on the American people to support his efforts to return.
“I am not a beggar, but I am begging the American people to help me restore Ksenia,” he said.
