The case of Nikita Zhuravel, convicted in Chechnya of desecrating the Koran and charged with treason in Volgograd, has taken a new turn: the young man disappeared while being transported. Lawyer Andrei Sabinin reported that there has been no news of Zhuravel since December 24, the day his family received a letter from Ulyanovsk, from where he was transferred.

The defense attorney appealed to the Human Rights Council, expressing serious concerns for his client's life, especially given previous complaints about unlawful denials of visits with his parents in the Volgograd pretrial detention center.

Nikita Zhuravel, a native of Crimea, found himself at the center of legal proceedings after he was detained in Volgograd in May 2023 for recording a video of a burning Koran in front of a mosque. Despite the incident occurring in Volgograd, Zhuravel's case was transferred to Chechnya on the orders of Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin, which, it was noted, contravened the Russian Federation Criminal Procedure Code. The accused was subsequently beaten in a Grozny pretrial detention center by Adam Kadyrov, the son of the republic's head.

In February 2024, a Grozny court sentenced Zhuravel to 3.5 years in prison on charges of insulting religious feelings and hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. In October 2024, he was charged with treason.

Memorial human rights activists pointed out the lack of direct evidence implicating Zhuravel in the Koran-burning video and the possibility that his confession was coerced.