18:24, 10 January 2024

Court hearing in case against Zhuravel, who burned Koran, postponed at defence’s request

Nikita Zhuravel. Screenshot of the video posted on Ramzan Kadyrov's Telegram channel

In Grozny, a court granted the defence’s request and postponed a court hearing in the case against Nikita Zhuravel, accused of burning the Koran.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that court hearings in Nikita Zhuravel’s case were repeatedly postponed for various reasons, including due to the failure of the victims to appear in court. At court hearings held on December 12 and 20, imams from Chechnya, involved as victims in Nikita Zhuravel’s case, stated that the burning of the Koran insulted them and all Muslims.

Nikita Zhuravel is accused of violating the right to freedom of conscience and religion and disorderly conduct. On October 13, at trial, the defendant apologized to Muslims for his action, but claimed that he had no motive for gross violation of public order.

Yulia Antonova, an advocate of Nikita Zhuravel, has requested the court to postpone the hearing to January 17, as she does not stay in Chechnya now, the “RIA Novosti” news agency reports.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 9, 2024 at 05:08 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot