Lawyers considered it possible to release Murdiev from the prison

Chechen teenager Roman Murdiev is in quarantine in a Volgograd pretrial detention center, but his sentence expires within the next three weeks. His defense does not rule out the possibility that Murdiev could be released before reaching the Kamyshin juvenile correctional facility.

As reported by Kavkazsky Uzel, the mother of Chechen teenager Roman (Muslim) Murdiev, who was sent to a juvenile correctional facility in the Volgograd region, appealed to Putin and Kadyrov in June, calling on them to ensure the child's safety. According to the mother, she has received threats promising revenge for Nikita Zhuravel, who was beaten by Adam Kadyrov. Later, his mother reported that Murdiyev was transferred to a Volgograd pretrial detention center and placed in solitary confinement, without being allowed to call his family.

The Volgograd pretrial detention center administration explained Roman Murdiyev's placement in solitary confinement as a result of quarantine, his defense attorney, Aslanbek Minkailov, told the Caucasian Knot. He noted that another lawyer visited the teenager in the pretrial detention center on June 24 and spoke with him.

“Because the pretrial detention center also houses adult prisoners, and there aren't many juvenile offenders, he was assigned to a separate cell for quarantine. There's been no word on threats right now,” he said.

Minkailov noted that Murdiev's sentence expires within the next three weeks—“approximately between July 11 and 14.” Despite this, it was decided to send him to a penal colony to serve the remainder of his sentence.

The beating of Nikita Zhuravel: why did Kadyrov's men need to publish the video?

“I think there are at most eight juvenile correctional colonies in Russia. And Everyone thought he was going to Bryansk: the other prisoners were taken to Bryansk with him, but for some reason he was sent to the Kamyshin correctional colony. It was disconcerting that Muslim was being sent not to Bryansk, but to the Volgograd region, where Zhuravel is from. But I hope the panic was unnecessary and everything will be fine," he said. The lawyer didn't rule out the possibility that Murdiev would be released before even reaching the colony. "They won't deliver just one convict to the penal colony; they need to send a whole train car there. That's why the transfer is so delayed. Most likely, the prisoner's sentence will expire en route, and he'll be released on his own before reaching the penal colony," Minkailov explained.

There are quite a few cases where a convict is sent to the penal colony at the end of his sentence to comply with formalities. Some are released right after the transfer, confirmed attorney Timofey Shirokov, who is not involved with Murdiev's case.

"I've had clients like that – a man arrived at the penal colony and was immediately released. As for the actual transfer to the penal colony: if the sentence has entered into force, there's nothing much to dispute, although it would probably be right to place the man in a closer region. All arrivals undergo quarantine. Pretrial detention centers usually have sections for minors, and if other minors arrive with him, they can quarantine together; it's not necessary to put him in solitary confinement," he told the "Caucasian Knot."

Murdiyev's case previously attracted the attention of human rights activists and politicians. In December 2024, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov criticized the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Investigative Committee for initiating a case against the teenager, and the Chechen human rights ombudsman demanded protection for Murdiyev's family from threats against their relatives. "Murdiyev's case shows that the people at the top, like Bastrykin and Kolokoltsev, are in the wrong place," the Chechen leader stated at the time.

Murdiyev did not initiate the conflict and stood up for the younger teenager, according to his family and defense. According to them, the case was marred from the very beginning by violations and the disregard for evidence presented by the lawyers. The defense alleged pressure on the teenager, restrictions on his right to a defense, and a disproportionate preventive measure. The defense also pointed out that, under similar circumstances, other defendants in the case, not originally from the North Caucasus, were removed from the charges and were used as witnesses. Human rights activists and relatives regarded the trial as a show trial and pointed out possible ethnic bias.