Volgograd Resident Beaten By Kadyrov's Son Accused Of Hooliganism

New details of the scandalous case have emerged.

The Visayitovsky District Court in Grozny has received the case of Nikita Zhuravel, a 19-year-old resident of Volgograd who was arrested for burning the Koran.

According to the press release, he is charged not only with insulting the feelings of believers (Article 148 Part 2 of the Criminal Code), but also with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred (Article 213 Part 2 of the Criminal Code). The trial is scheduled for 9 October.

Nikita Zhuravel was arrested in May for burning the Koran outside the Cathedral Mosque in Volgograd. When questioned, he said he had done so "on the instructions of the special services of Ukraine for a reward of 10,000 rubles". The head of Russia's Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, ordered the case to be transferred to Chechnya because of "numerous appeals from residents of the republic". The student was transferred to pre-trial detention centre 1 in Grozny.

In mid-August, Zhuravel reported that he had been beaten by Adam Kadyrov, the 15-year-old son of the Chechen leader. The prisoner complained to Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia's human rights ombudsman. A month later, Ramzan Kadyrov himself posted a video of the beating, noting that he was proud of his son's behaviour.

The video caused a huge public outcry, but law enforcement officials refused to investigate what had happened. Grozny police said Adam Kadyrov was 15 years old and under the age of criminal responsibility. The Kremlin refused to comment on the beating of the defenceless Zhuravel in pre-trial detention. Nor has President Vladimir Putin punished Kadyrov. On the contrary, the head of state encouraged him by approving the construction of a new mosque in Moscow.

Later, it was announced that Grozny had been awarded the status of Russia's cultural capital for 2025. The competition was won by Nizhny Novgorod, which will hold the title in 2024. But when the results were announced, the head of the organising committee, State Duma deputy Nikolai Novichkov, unexpectedly announced that he could not leave Grozny without a "prize" because the republic's team had "distinguished itself with the most outstanding performance".