In Chechnya, a case was filed against a Volgograd resident accused of burning the Koran.

Nikita Zhuravel, who recorded a video of the burning of the Koran in front of a mosque, is accused of insulting religious feelings and hooliganism. The case is being investigated in Chechnya.

On September 27, 2023, the Visaitovsky District Court of Grozny received the case of Volgograd resident Nikita Zhuravel, accused under Part 2 of Art. 148 of the Criminal Code (public actions expressing clear disrespect for society and committed with the aim of insulting the religious feelings of believers, committed in places specially designed for worship, other religious rites and ceremonies) and Part 2 of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism committed by an organized group by prior conspiracy based on religious hatred and enmity).

Zhuravel’s case became known on May 21, 2023 - then he was detained on suspicion under Part 2 of Art. 148 of the Criminal Code. The case was opened due to the burning of the Koran. A video in which someone burns the Koran in front of a mosque located in the Voroshilovsky district of Volgograd was published on May 19 in the Telegram channel “Morning of Dagestan” with the caption “Volgograd!! May Allah break your back - country of Islamophobes!!!”

During interrogation, Zhuravel confirmed that he burned the Koran at the direction of the Ukrainian intelligence services for a reward of ten thousand rubles and handed over the recording to a representative of the SBU. He also reported his involvement in filming military installations.

By decision of the chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, the criminal case was transferred for further investigation to the department of the Investigative Committee for the Chechen Republic, since numerous statements were received from residents of Chechnya with a request to recognize them as victims from the publication of this video. Later during the investigation, Zhuravel was charged with hooliganism - in connection with which it is not yet known exactly.

On May 22, the Central District Court of Volgograd arrested Zhuravel for two months. Before the court hearing, the person involved in the case called his action “very bad” and apologized to Muslims. On May 27, he was taken to the Grozny pre-trial detention center. On June 13, Vladimir Putin announced that Zhuravel would serve his sentence “in prisons located in one of the regions of the Russian Federation with a predominantly Muslim population.”

We believe that in this case, criminal prosecution under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (incitement to hatred): the burning of the Koran did not take place in a mosque, as suggested by Part 2 of Art. 148 of the Criminal Code, but the publication of the video was accompanied by a commentary aimed at inciting hostility. We also note that the idea that the investigation of a case of insulting the feelings of Muslims should be conducted not at the place where the crime was committed, but in a region where the majority of the inhabitants are Muslims, pits different parts of the country’s citizens and different regions on religious grounds, which poses a threat to security society and state.

On September 25, Ramzan Kadyrov published a video on his Telegram channel in which his son Adam beats Zhuravel. “He beat me and did the right thing,” the head of Chechnya commented on the video. The beating took place in August 2023.

On October 13, it became known that the court in Grozny, which began considering the case, extended Zhuravel’s arrest for another six months.

During the hearing, the defendant admitted guilt in burning the Koran and apologized to Muslims, but did not admit guilt in hooliganism.

Sources

• Criminal case card No. 1-73/2023 // Visaitovsky District Court of Grozny. 2023. October 3.
• Criminal case Zhuravel N.S. Part 2 of Article 148, Part 2 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was received by the court // Visaitovsky District Court of Grozny. 2023. October 2.
• In Volgograd, the police check the video of the burning of the Koran in front of the mosque // Volgograd online. 2023. May 19.
• The head of the Ministry of Justice believes that the person who burned the Koran should be sent to a colony in the Muslim region // TASS, 2023. May 21.
• By decision of the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, the criminal case on the fact of insulting the religious feelings of believers was transferred for further investigation to the investigative department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Chechen Republic // IC of the Russian Federation. 2023. May 21.
• Balasyan Lusine. The Volgograd court arrested for two months the person who burned the Koran on instructions from the SBU // Kommersant. 2023. May 22.
• A man detained for burning the Koran in Volgograd was taken to a pre-trial detention center in Grozny // TASS. 2023. May 27.
• Putin named the place where the person guilty of burning the Koran will serve his sentence // Izvestia. 2023. June 13.
• I don’t like understatement // Telegram channel “Kadyrov_95”. 2023. September 25.
• Accused of burning the Koran, Zhuravel partially admitted his guilt // TASS. 2023. October 13.