Russian, U.S. citizen Karelina, convicted of treason in Russia, transferred to U.S. in prisoner swap - lawyer

MOSCOW. April 10 (Interfax) - Ksenia Karelina, citizen of the United States and Russia convicted of treason by a Russian court, has been transferred to the U.S. in a prisoner swap on Thursday, Karelina's lawyer Mikhail Mushailov told Interfax.

"She was exchanged. She contacted her relatives two hours ago," Mushailov said.

According to earlier media reports, the exchange took place in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. Russian citizen Artur Petrov, charged with smuggling, violations of export control regulations and money laundering in the United States, was transferred to Russia.

Karelina, a resident of Los Angeles, was detained in Yekaterinburg in August 2024. The Sverdlovsk Region Court sentenced her to 12 years of imprisonment on treason counts for donating money to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. She pleaded guilty as charged.