Writes to President Biden Begging for Him to Help the American Woman Jailed in Russia
“Do something to ensure that her basic human rights are being met,” Anita Martinez wrote to Biden. A Russian human rights advocate penned his own letter to the U.S. secretary of state about a prisoner swap
A close friend of Sarah Krivanek, an American woman serving a prison sentence in Russia, has written to U.S. President Joe Biden pleading for his help.
"I am begging you to please act on her behalf," Anita Martinez wrote in a letter she says she submitted Aug. 10 through the White House website, a copy of which was shared with PEOPLE. "Do something to ensure that her basic human rights are being met and that contact is made so that we can send her the supplies needed to maintain herself."
In November 2021, Krivanek was charged by Russian authorities with "intention to inflict slight bodily harm" and "threatening to kill or do grievous bodily harm" following a domestic violence incident with a Russian man named Mikhail Karavaev.
In court, Krivanek alleged that Karavaev had abused her before and indicated that she was defending herself during the incident, which left him cut on his nose by a knife.
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She was released on bail after agreeing in writing that she would not leave Moscow and would demonstrate good behavior until her trial. But on Dec. 15, she was arrested at a Moscow airport while trying to catch a plane to flee back to the U.S.
Krivanek carried with her at the airport a letter that showed she received a $200 repatriation loan from the U.S. government to cover expenses on her journey to the States. She also reportedly secured a diplomatic escort to the airport.
A State Department official previously told PEOPLE that the agency was aware of the December 2021 arrest of a U.S. citizen but said the American Embassy was not aware that she was ordered to stay in Moscow until her trial. She's now serving a one-year, three-month sentence related to the assault charges.
"I am quite aware that Sarah may have to serve out the duration of her sentence before we can get her home," Martinez wrote to President Biden. "My concern is the lack of communication and I worry about her well-being and mental state of mind as we do not know her current living conditions."
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Martinez cited a CNN interview with Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine who was detained in Russia for nearly three years before being released in April in a prisoner swap.
"Based on his description of what the conditions are like in Russian prisons, I am even more concerned for Sarah because we've not been able to send her supplies through their inmate commissary website, a phone number is needed on Sarah's end," Martinez writes.
"I do not believe," he writes, that "Ms. Krivanek represents a danger to society."