The hearing on Zhuravel's case was held behind closed doors - the lawyer refrained from commenting
Today's hearing on the case of Volgograd student Nikita Zhuravel, who is serving time in a Chechen penal colony for burning the Koran and is accused of treason, has ended. It was held behind closed doors. For this reason, the boy's parents were unable to attend, and his lawyer Andrei Sabinin refused to comment on the progress of the criminal trial. The defense attorney only noted that Nikita's mother is suffering greatly because of what is happening to him.
 
"His mom and dad live in Sevastopol, 900 kilometers from Volgograd. How can a mother feel when her 20-year-old son is in prison? She is nervous, crying and suffering," V1.RU quotes Sabinin as saying.
 
Zhuravel himself did not react in any way to the crowd of journalists trying to get answers to their questions from him, the local publication reports.
 
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for November 25.
 
Recall that the investigation recently reported that in the spring of 2023, Zhuravel not only burned the holy book, but also handed over a video of a train carrying military equipment to the SBU. The young man faces a life sentence.
 
In February of this year, a court in Grozny sentenced 19-year-old Nikita Zhuravel to 3.5 years in a general regime penal colony. He was found guilty of burning the Koran at the cathedral mosque in Volgograd and tried for publicly insulting the feelings of believers and hooliganism. In court, Zhuravel said that he acted on the orders of the SBU not because of any convictions, but for the promise of a monetary reward. He admitted his guilt and apologized.
 
At the end of September 2023, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, published a video in which his 16-year-old son Adam beats Nikita Zhuravel in a pretrial detention center. After this, Kadyrov Jr. was awarded many state and republican awards and titles.
Последние новости
The Georgian opposition faces the threat of a mass ban on party activity
Politics
The Georgian opposition faces the threat of a mass ban on party activity
16 October 2025

Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party has appealed to the Constitutional Court to ban the activities of approximately ten opposition political groups.

For the first time, criminal cases have been opened against Crimean Tatar women for participating in an Islamic party
Human rights
For the first time, criminal cases have been opened against Crimean Tatar women for participating in an Islamic party
16 October 2025

In Crimea, Esma Nimetulayeva, Nasiba Saidova, Elviza Aliyev, and Fevziye Osmanova were detained following searches in the Bakhchisaray and Sevastopol districts. They are charged with organizing and participating in terrorist activity due to their alleged affiliation with the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Russia.

The head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in another Russian region has been stripped of his citizenship
Politics
The head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in another Russian region has been stripped of his citizenship
16 October 2025

The head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Ulyanovsk region, Islam Huseynov, has been stripped of his Russian citizenship and will be deported. According to Russian media, this decision was made jointly by the regional departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service (FSB). The reasons for the citizenship revocation and deportation have not been officially disclosed.

Afgan Mukhtarli:
Human rights
Afgan Mukhtarli: "Ilham Arrested His Next Slave"
15 October 2025

Azerbaijani opposition journalist Afgan Mukhtarli commented on the house arrest and criminal prosecution of former head of the presidential administration Ramiz Mehdiyev, calling it logical and symbolic.