Nikita Zhuravel, convicted of burning the Koran, received another 13.5 years in prison in the treason case

The Volgograd Regional Court sentenced student Nikita Zhuravel to 13 and a half years in a maximum security colony in a case of high treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the press service of the regional courts and the publication V1.ru.

Zhuravel was also sentenced to a year of restriction of freedom after the end of his real term. Taking into account the unserved sentence for burning the Koran, the Volgograd resident will spend the next 14 years behind bars, noted V1.ru.

As follows from the verdict, from March to May 2023, Nikita Zhuravel entered into correspondence with a representative of the Ukrainian special services and carried out tasks from the curator of the Ukrainian security service. These tasks were allegedly directed against the security of Russia, thus the Volgograd resident committed treason.

The defendant admitted guilt during the hearings, the press service of the courts of the Volgograd region said.

The criminal case of treason against Zhuravel became known in early October.

In February, a court in Grozny sentenced Zhuravel to 3.5 years in prison on charges of insulting the feelings of believers and hooliganism. According to investigators, the accused burned the Koran next to the Cathedral Mosque in Volgograd.

Later, the video recording of the burning, according to law enforcement agencies, was published “on an Internet portal controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” The Investigative Committee for Chechnya was assigned to investigate the case, and Zhuravel himself was transferred to a pre-trial detention center in the city of Grozny. There, in August, the accused was beaten by Ramzan Kadyrov's son Adam.