Chechen Trial Of Russian Teen Who Burned Copy Of Koran Postponed

Nikita Zhuravel was arrested in May on a charge of "insulting believers' feelings" after he burned a copy of the Koran in the Russian city of Volgograd.

The trial of 19-year-old Nikita Zhuravel, who publicly burned a copy of the Koran in the Russian city of Volgograd, was moved to October 13 after he was not brought to the courtroom for unspecified reasons in the North Caucasus region of Chechnya on October 9. Zhuravel was arrested in May on a charge of "insulting believers' feelings." The case against him was launched in Chechnya, instead of Volgograd, due to "requests by residents of the Chechen Republic." In August, the 15-year-old son of Chechnya's authoritarian leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, Adam Kadyrov, severally beat Zhuravel in his cell, which prompted a public outcry across Russia. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Caucasus.Realities, click here.