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Russian national Nikita Zhuravel sentenced to 14 years in prison for high treason

Nikita Zhuravel was detained in May 2023 in Volgograd for setting fire to the Quran in front of a mosque, and during questioning, he confessed that he did it for money, under instructions from Ukrainian intelligence

Nikita Zhuravel (R) Dmitry Rogulin/TASS

Nikita Zhuravel (R)

© Dmitry Rogulin/TASS

VOLGOGRAD, November 25. /TASS/. The Volgograd district court sentenced Nikita Zhuravel, who was previously convicted for setting fire to the Quran, to 14 years in prison on charges of high treason, the Volgograd Region court press office announced.

"He was sentenced for multiple offenses to 14 years in a strict-regime penal colony, followed by 1 year of restricted freedom," the press office said, adding that the sentence has not yet entered into effect and could be appealed.

Zhuravel was detained in May 2023 in Volgograd for setting fire to the Quran in front of a mosque. During questioning, he confessed that he did it for money, under instructions from Ukrainian intelligence. The case was forwarded to the regional Investigative Committee directorate in Chechnya, based on appeals from residents of the republic, who asked to be deemed victims in this case. In February, a court in Grozny sentenced Zhuravel to 3.5 years.

Later in October, the Volgograd Region Prosecutor’s Office announced that Zhuravel, 20, had been charged with high treason. According to the investigation, the young man offered his cooperation to a representative of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) via an online messenger. In March 2023, the defendant sent video footage of a train carrying Russian military vehicles, passing military planes, and information about the movement of a military service car to his contact.

Zhuravel pleaded guilty to all charges.

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Nikita Zhuravel was detained in May 2023 in Volgograd for setting fire to the Quran in front of a mosque, and during questioning, he confessed that he did it for money, under instructions from Ukrainian intelligence

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