A Russian, beaten by the son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov who accused him of burning a Koran, was sentenced Tuesday to three and a half years in prison in Chechnya.
Aged 20, Nikita Jouravel was accused of
“hooliganism”
and
“violation of the right to freedom of conscience”
, including
“insulting religious feelings”
.
He was on trial in this predominantly Muslim Russian republic in the Caucasus.
The young man was found
“guilty of the incriminated acts (...) and sentenced to three and a half years in camp
,” a court in Grozny, the Chechen capital, in charge of the trial, said in a statement.
The Court underlined the
“great social impact in Russia”
of this case.
The young man was arrested last May and accused of burning a Koran in Volgograd, in southwest Russia.
He was then transferred to Chechnya at the request of local authorities.
His case took a political turn when images were released showing the son of the ruthless Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, Adam, then aged 15, beating Nikita Jouravel, who was then in detention.
Kadyrov's son made a hero
Ramzan Kadyrov said he was
“proud”
of his offspring.
His son Adam subsequently received a shower of official decorations from various Russian regions.
During a hearing at the beginning of November, Nikita Jouravel admitted the facts and engaged in self-criticism, a widespread practice in Chechnya and which human rights NGOs consider to be carried out under duress.
“As part of my incarceration, I read the Koran, I study it, to understand to what extent I insulted the feelings of believers
,” he assured.
Ramzan Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin's loyal lieutenant, is accused of multiple human rights violations in his republic.
He advocates and defends a rigorous Islam.
For example, he very strongly condemned the caricatures of Mohammed published by the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, targeted for these publications by a terrorist attack in January 2015.
Ramzan Kadyrov is also a zealous supporter of the Russian assault on Ukraine.
In October 2022, he claimed that three of his sons – Akhmat, Eli, and Adam, all under the age of 20 – had been sent to the front.
They then returned to Chechnya as heroes.