Volgograd Regional Court has sentenced Nikita Zhuravel, who was convicted of burning the Quran, to 14 years in a maximum-security prison for treason, the joint press service of the regional courts reported on Monday.
The 20-year-old staged a public burning of the Muslim holy book in front of a mosque in the city of Volgograd, southern Russia, on May 4, 2023, and later published a video of the act. He was detained soon afterward and admitted doing it for money on the instructions of Ukrainian special services, who promised to pay him 10,000 rubles ($96). The goal of the video was to incite hatred “between Christians and Muslims,” Zhuravel explained.
Zhuravel’s criminal case was transferred to the Chechen Republic for investigation after multiple requests from local residents, who had demanded to be recognized as victims of his crime. In February, a court in Grozny sentenced the young man to 3.5 years for hooliganism and publicly insulting the feelings of believers.
On Monday, Zhuravel was also found guilty of committing treason against the state. The Volgograd court ruled that the young man had entered into correspondence with a representative of Ukrainian special services and carried out tasks directed against the security of the Russian Federation.
According to investigators, aside from burning the Quran, Zhuravel also sent his Ukrainian handlers a video recording of a Russian train carrying military equipment, military planes in flight, and data on the movement of an official vehicle belonging to the Russian Defense Ministry.
“For all of the crimes, he was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment in a strict regime penal colony, followed by a restriction of freedom for a period of one year,” the court’s press service said.
It was noted that Zhuravel admitted his guilt during the trial. His lawyer told TASS that he would appeal the verdict and ask for a shorter prison term.