Boyfriend of L.A. ballerina Ksenia Karelina, sentenced to prison in Russia, "begging American people to help"
As Russian-American Ksenia Karelina prepares to appeal her 12-year sentence in a Russian penal colony after pleading guilty Thursday to treason, her boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, is grappling with the harsh reality of her situation.
"How did I end up here? How did Ksenia end up here?" he reacted to Thursday's sentencing during an exclusive interview with "CBS Mornings" co-anchor Gayle King.
Russia sentences Karelina for treason
Karelina was sentenced after pleading guilty earlier this month to treason. She was arrested earlier this year while on a trip to Russia for donating about $51 to an American-based humanitarian group helping Ukrainians suffering in the war, according to Russian state media.
Her lawyers said she acknowledged transferring the funds, though she did not admit to intentionally directing them to organizations that might have used the money for actions against Russia. She didn't expect that her donation would end up supporting anti-Russian activities.
According to Van Heerden, the donation she made to Ukraine in 2022, which was legal under U.S. law, was later used as evidence to charge her with treason under a law Russia passed in 2023.
She was "exercising her First Amendment rights. She has done nothing wrong," he said.
"She wanted to go home"
Van Heerden said he was uneasy about Karelina's decision to return to Russia this year, given the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. But he said she "had no worry in the world," assuring him it would be safe since she was 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 confident there was no danger, especially since she didn't follow the news closely, and Van Heerden admitted he didn't either. Wanting to fulfill her wish to visit home, he bought her a plane ticket as a birthday gift in December. The pair traveled to Istanbul for New Year's. He was going to travel with her to Russia from there, but he didn't feel comfortable. So, she traveled alone to Russia and he returned home to Los Angeles.
The trouble began, Van Heerden said, when Karelina arrived in Russia. He said she was detained at the airport and questioned for 12 to 16 hours.
Van Heerden is trying to understand how the Russian authorities knew about Karelina's donation. He recalled a strange interaction at the airport in Istanbul when Karelina was preparing to fly to Russia. A Russian airline employee double-checked her details and asked if she was traveling with another passport, which made the situation seem suspicious.
After Karelina confirmed she was also an American citizen, they allowed her to board the flight, but upon her arrival in Russia, she was detained, questioned and later arrested.
Van Heerden said he was struggling to keep his emotions in check as he struggles with the injustice of the situation.
"Why are we in this position?" asked Van Heerden, adding that "Ksenia should be home and I'm angry."
Pleading U.S. to help bring Karelina home
Regarding the U.S. State Department's involvement, Van Heerden said he has not heard much from the entity and has had limited access to Karelina in the eight months she has been detained. He questioned why she was not involved in this month's prisoner swap when three Americans — including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva — were released by Russia.
"I was pushing for the last eight months, I was pushing for a wrongful detention so that when we do have a prison swap, that Ksenais on that list and made, made a priority," he said. "I was slowed down. I was told we have time. I was told, 'Chris, don't worry.' There will be no prison swap until after the election or maybe early next year. So we have time and I was pushing, but I was pushed back. Guess what? There was a prison swap two weeks ago. And Ksenia was not on that list."
Van Heerden said he is able to communicate with Karelina through letters, though he knows they're being monitored by Russian authorities. Over the past eight months, they've exchanged letters about twice a month. He said he believes Karelina's situation is unwarranted and questioned why she has not yet been officially designated as wrongfully detained, given her 12-year sentence.
Now, he is calling on the American public to support efforts to secure her return.
"I'm not a begging man, but I'm begging the American people to help me get Ksenia back," he said.