Russian man faces treason trial for Holy Quran burning and alleged security breach

A Russian court has scheduled a hearing on November 14 for Nikita Zhuravel, a 19-year-old accused of “treason” following his burning of the Holy Quran in Volgograd in May 2023.

Originally detained for burning the holy book, Zhuravel was later transferred to Chechnya at the request of its Muslim-majority authorities, where he was sentenced to three and a half years for “vandalism” and “insulting religious sentiments”.

He now faces additional treason charges for allegedly sending a video of a Russian military transport to Ukrainian security officials in March 2023, with a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

This case reflects Russia’s heightened prosecution of espionage, treason, and sabotage charges since the onset of the conflict with Ukraine in February 2022, with security-related cases receiving increasingly severe sentences.