Family of US ballerina arrested by Putin for ‘high treason’ reveal Navalny fears after she ‘raised £41 for Ukraine army’

FAMILY of the ballerina detained by Putin’s cronies have said they fear she could be killed inside the prison, just like Alexie Navalni.

Ksenia Karelina, 33, was taken away by Russia’s FSB security services on suspicion of raising just £41 for the Ukrainian army.

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Karelina being taken away on suspicion of ‘high treason’ by members of FSB[/caption]

Karelina was put in handcuffs by an FSB member wearing a balaclava

The ballerina moved to the US to learn dance

AP

Putin’s top rival Alexie Navalny was killed inside a Russian Prison[/caption]

Reuters

Putin has been accused of killing all his political opponents[/caption]

Her worried family is now pleading for help to have her freed and brought home to the US.

Karelina’s former mother-in-law told the New York Post: “We are all in shock.

“She is just a wonderful soul. She would never do anything evil to anyone.”

Her family says they fear Karelina could be killed inside the prison for going against Putrin’s agenda, just like Navalny.

“We are so worried because we are reading stories about [Alexei] Navalny’s supporters arrested for mourning him,” she added.

“Knowing Ksenia, she would never do anything criminal.

“Her mom and dad had recently divorced and she wanted to see the family.”

Karelina, who holds a dual Russian-US citizenship, was travelling to Russia to spend New Year’s Eve with her parents.

However, the 33-year-old dancer was detained in January by local police in her hometown of Yekaterinburg and accused of “petty hooliganism”

She was later arrested by Putin’s FSB officers who claimed to have found her “involved in providing financial assistance to a foreign state”.

Karelina was suspected of collecting money for a New York-based Ukrainian organisation called Razom for the past two years since Putin invaded Ukraine and started his bloody war.

Reports suggested she only raised £41 for the cause.

She has also been accused of participating in public events in the US to help support Ukraine.

Dramatic footage shows the ballerina being taken away with her hat covering her eyes by Putin’s cronies.

She was then paraded blindfolded and in handcuffs by masked security agents in a Russian courtroom Tuesday.

Karelina’s ex-mother-in-law and her ex-husband are now fighting to get her back in the US.

“My son was calling her, and when we found out what had happened, we have all been in shock,” the lady added.

“He told me this morning ‘Let’s think what we can do to help her.’ We don’t want to cause her any trouble.”

Karelina reportedly arrived in the US in 2012 – and got married to her ex-husband the next year.

The couple, who were based in Maryland, divorced a few years ago before Karelina moved to California.

Political scientist Fyodor Krasheninnikov claimed: “She probably supported Ukraine a couple of times on social networks, maybe she collected something there.

“If you participated in any anti-war protests, wrote something on social networks, or, especially, donated to Ukrainians or encouraged them to do this, think a hundred times.

“Do you really need to go to Russia urgently? A second passport will not save you from anything.”

Navalny’s killing

Karelina’s detention casts more light on Putin’s crackdown on dissent days after Russian authorities announced Navalny’s death in prison.

The top Putin rival was found dead at the feared “Polar Wolf” jail, where he was serving a three-decade sentence, as he went on a walk, said prison authorities.

Russia gave the official cause of death as “sudden death syndrome” on Saturday, say Navalny’s family and lawyer.

But no one has been allowed to see his body yet outside of Russian cops and selected emergency responders as an autopsy is still yet to be conducted.

This has led to speculation over his ‘real’ cause of death as many fear the worst for Putin’s biggest critic.

Just two days ago, Navalny’s heartbroken wife accused Putin of murdering her husband with the deadly nerve agent novichok in jail.

Yulia’s sensational claims come as Russian authorities continue to refuse to let Navalny’s family see his body.

The 47-year-old widow has also called out the Kremlin for “lying and waiting” for the fatal toxins to vanish before they release his body.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the claims are “nothing but unsubstantiated accusations because they are not supported by anything, not confirmed”.

Yesterday, Navalny’s mother Lyudmila Navalnaya, 69, stood outside the intimidating Arctic jail in sub-zero temperatures and demanded Putin release her son’s body.

She said in a video: “Behind me is the penal colony IK-3 Polar Wolf, where my son Alexei Navalny died on February 16.

“For the fifth day, I cannot see him. They don’t give me his body and they don’t even tell me where he is.

“I appeal to you, Vladimir Putin, the solution to the issue depends only on you. Let me finally see my son.

“I demand that Alexei’s body be immediately handed over so that I can bury him humanely.”

Russian crackdown

The FSB has recently detained a record number of people for alleged espionage and high treason.

This includes a string of scientists – some in their 70s – accused of supplying hypersonic missile secrets to the West or China.

Putin’s henchmen are said to be engaged in a “spy mania” witch-hunt among leading aerospace academics.

Six world-class hypersonic and laser scientists have been detained so far, one of whom died in custody.

“They are starting to see enemies everywhere,” said one Western diplomat. “It feels like paranoia.”

Also among those detained on espionage charges is Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

The American, 32, was falsely jailed over bogus spy charges and has spent 278 days behind bars so far.

He was arrested by the FSB on March 29 while on a reporting trip in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

Russia continues to extend his pre-trial detention without providing any public evidence to back up their claims.

Washington has repeatedly called the charges “ridiculous” and President Joe Biden branded Gershkovich’s detention as “totally illegal”.

The WSJ denies the charges and has called for his immediate release, as has his family.

He is the first Western reporter to be jailed on espionage charges in Russia since the Soviet era, and he faces a prison term of up to 20 years if convicted.

Just last year, Russian warlord Igor Girkin was also arrested after branding Putin a “useless coward”.

The commander-turned-military blogger repeatedly criticised the tyrant and warned the country would not survive another term under him.

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Picture of Karelina behind the bars of a Russian prison[/caption]

Navalny seen in his cell on a call via video link last year