14 October 2023, 16:18
Grozny: arrest of Nikita Zhuravel, who burned down the Koran, extended for six months
The prosecution has convinced the court to extend for six months the custody term at the Grozny SIZO (pre-trial prison) of Nikita Zhuravel, a Volgograd resident, accused within the case of burning down the Koran.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 9, due to the failure of the victims to appear and non-delivery of the defendant, the court session on Zhuravel's case was postponed to October 13.
Now, the Visaitov District Court of Grozny has extended Nikita Zhuravel's custody at the SIZO by six months, the SOTA outlet reports. This was the demand of the prosecution; the defence did not protest, as it treats Zhuravel's stay in custody as less dangerous for his than being at large, the outlet explains.
When the court gave Zhuravel the floor, he apologized to the Muslims, the "Chechnya Today" News Agency has reported. "First of all, I'd like to apologize to all Muslims ... for my act. It is terrible, and I committed it primarily out of ignorance of the importance of this Book for Muslims," the agency quotes Nikita as saying.
The decision to transfer Zhuravel's case to Chechnya not only contradicts the legislation, but also creates a risk of torture for the Volgograd resident and a threat to his life, lawyers had noted earlier.
On September 25, Ramzan Kadyrov posted a video of his son, Adam Kadyrov, beating up Zhuravel at the SIZO. The head of Chechnya praised his son for this act. A number of human rights defenders have expressed outrage at the beating of the arrested person.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 13, 2023 at 01:20 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
