Kadyrov's son beat the accused right in the pre-trial detention center

Kadyrov himself is proud of him, but even pro-government human rights activists demand an investigation. How does the Kremlin react and what is known about the victim?

On September 25, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, published a video in which his 15-year-old son Adam beats 19-year-old Nikita Zhuravel, who admitted to burning the Koran - while Zhuravel himself probably gave his confession under pressure. Now even human rights activists loyal to the Kremlin are calling for an investigation into the situation, but the authorities are in no hurry to comment. We tell you what we know.

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For the first time, information that the 15-year-old son of the head of Chechnya, Adam Kadyrov, beat the accused Nikita Zhuravel appeared on August 16. this . reported Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova

Zhuravel was sent to a pre-trial detention center in Grozny on charges of setting fire to the Koran. On May 19, 2023, a video of an unknown person burning the Koran in front of a mosque in Volgograd went viral on social networks. On May 20, Nikita Zhuravel, who worked as a courier, was detained by FSB officers.

Zhuravel is 19 years old. He was born and raised in Sevastopol. In 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, his parents sent him to the fifth grade of the Presidential Cadet School under the Russian Ministry of Defense. Judging by the old VKontakte page, at least for the first years after the invasion, Zhuravel supported annexation. In 2015, photographs of Russian military equipment and Putin, as well as the flags of Russia and the so-called Novorossiya, under which pro-Russian forces fought in eastern Ukraine, often appeared on his page mixed with screenshots from the game World of Tanks.

Propaganda publications reported that Zhuravel was allegedly subscribed to the channels of Alexei Navalny and Mikhail Khodorkovsky. In Volgograd, Zhuravel studied at the Volgograd State Social and Pedagogical University and worked as a food delivery person.

In the video of the FSB interrogation , Zhuravel, lying face down on the floor, says that he was allegedly detained for “filming fighter jets.” Further testimony was given based on leading questions and tips from the security forces. In the same video, after editing, Zhuravel speaks almost quickly the text, which looks like it was written by the security forces. According to these “testimonies,” Zhuravel purchased the Koran “on instructions from the SBU” and on May 4 burned it near the mosque, filming it on his phone. He allegedly sent the “video materials” to SBU officers for a reward of 10 thousand rubles. On camera, Zhuravel “admits” that he did this to “incite discord between Christians and Muslims in the Volgograd region.”

At the same time, the security forces did not prosecute Zhuravel for treason or espionage, the articles about which his “testimony” falls under. Zhuravel was accused only of insulting the feelings of believers and was placed in a pre-trial detention center, and a few days later he was transferred to Chechnya. Then the Minister of National Policy of the Republic, Akhmed Dudayev , claimed that this was allegedly done on the initiative of the federal authorities.

“He will be tried here, he will serve his sentence here, because he has violated the feelings of Muslim believers. Here, I think, he will find his punishment within the law,” Dudayev said.

It was reported that the order for the transfer was personally given by the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin.

After Zhuravel was taken to Chechnya, the Presidential Human Rights Council expressed concerns about his stay in the republic, and HRC member Eva Merkacheva appealed to the leadership of the Federal Penitentiary Service to have him transferred to another region.

“He beat me and did the right thing”

When Zhuravel complained to Moskalkova, the Ombudsman ordered the regional human rights ombudsman Mansur Soltaev to look into what happened. He promised that the authorities would sort it out, but added that in Chechnya human rights are “honored at the highest level,” “so no one can be subject to torture and beatings.”

On September 25, the head of Chechnya published footage of Zhuravel’s beating on his official channel and stated that he was proud of his son’s action:

“I beat him and did the right thing. Moreover, I believe that anyone who encroaches on any Holy Scripture, including ostentatiously burning it, thereby offending tens of millions of citizens of our great country, must suffer severe punishment. <…> Without exaggeration, yes, I am proud of Adam’s action. He was always distinguished by the desire to grow not among his peers, but among older ones, thanks to which he formed adult ideals of honor, dignity and defense of his religion. I respect his choice."

to talk about this with Kadyrov managed Ksenia Sobchak . According to Kadyrov, Zhuravel allegedly wanted to meet him when he arrived in Grozny and asked to initiate him into Islam. “We came to the pre-trial detention center, Zhuravel said that he wanted to talk to me personally. He said that he wanted to convert to Islam, I told him that he was a shaitan and just wanted to save his own skin. And that we don’t need such Muslims,” Kadyrov said.

According to Kadyrov, he himself “didn’t do anything” to Zhuravel, since he is a “law-abiding citizen.” But the moment when his son was left alone with the prisoner, he allegedly did not notice and intervened only after he heard shouts: “If the court decides that Adam is guilty, then he will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

"A challenge to the entire legal system"

The video of Zhuravel’s beating caused a reaction even among public figures controlled by the Kremlin. For example, Tatyana Moskalkova stated that the destruction of sacred scripture is “a dangerous act that offends the feelings of millions of believers,” but a person must be held accountable for his or her misconduct or crime exclusively according to the law. “These are the principles of our rule of law state. And during the investigation in the pre-trial detention center, he must, of course, be kept according to the rules established by law,” she added.

Members of the Presidential Human Rights Council also drew attention to the video.

“It’s not that I disagree with the beating of a person who is obviously in a defenseless state, everything in me rebels against this,” Marina Akhmedova, the head of the pro-Kremlin publication Regnum, wrote in her Telegram channel. — Kadyrov posted a video of his son beating a man who burned the Koran. What right does he have to do this, to break the law? None. We are not medieval feudal lords; no insult to religion justifies breaking the law. The punishment for this person is determined by the court. But not Kadyrov's son. And it’s somehow ignoble for the son himself to take advantage of the fact that a person cannot answer him. This shouldn't happen."

“I believe that now we have video evidence of the crime. This fact is not disputed by anyone. Now there is a video, the identity of the person who commits the crime is obvious. I believe that the investigation should take appropriate measures,” commented on human rights activist from the Human Rights Council Eva Merkacheva the video. — In fact, this is a challenge to the entire legal system of Russia. In a particular region they have shown that they can commit crimes and nothing will happen to them for it.”

According to lawyers interviewed by journalists of the BBC Russian Service ( they asked not to publish their names for reasons of their own safety ), this video indicates a violation of several articles of Russian laws.

Which ones?

Article 293 of the Criminal Code - negligence of employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service, Article 6.1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses or Article of Art. 116 of the Criminal Code - beatings, articles 115, 112 or 111 of the Criminal Code - infliction of light, medium or serious harm to health, article 20.17 of the Code of Administrative Offenses - violation of the access control of a protected facility, articles 280 and 282 of the Criminal Code - calls for extremism and extremist statements using official position.

also spoke The editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta in support of Zhuravel. Europe” Kirill Martynov: “Kadyrov forces his son to use violence against prisoners, which is not only prohibited by the laws of the Russian Federation, but also clearly harms the interests of the minor,” he said. Martynov turned to the Prosecutor General of Russia Igor Krasnov and the Chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin, as well as the Commissioner for Children’s Rights under the President of Russia Maria Lvova-Belova.

The Kremlin did not officially respond to either Kadyrov’s publication or calls for an investigation. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the “story with Kadyrov’s son” at a daily briefing with journalists:

- Why won’t you? Can you give me some advice?
- Don't want.

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