Today, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, published a post on his Telegram channel with a video in which his 15-year-old son Adam beats Nikita Zhuravel, accused of burning the Koran in Volgograd. Kadyrov said that he was proud of his son’s action and “respects his choice.” “He beat me and did the right thing,” said the head of Chechnya.
Nikita was detained in May and accused of insulting the feelings of believers for an 11-second video with a burning Koran. The Central District Court of Volgograd sent Zhuravel to a pre-trial detention center. By personal order of the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, the young man’s case was transferred for further investigation to the department of the Investigative Committee for Chechnya.
On August 16, he complained to the Human Rights Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova that the 15-year-old son of the head of Chechnya, Adam Kadyrov, beat him in a pre-trial detention center. The fact of the beating was admitted by the Minister of Press and Information of the Chechen Republic Akhmed Dudayev. The official attributed it to “religious feelings” and “customs.”
We demand that the Investigative Committee immediately begin an investigation and, based on its results, initiate criminal cases against Adam and Ramzan Kadyrov.
The actions of Adam Kadyrov can be characterized as a crime under Articles 116, 111 or 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In addition, the actions of Ramzan Kadyrov may contain signs of abuse of power and the elements of a crime under Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
