Defence to appeal against Nikita Zhuravel's sentence

The ruling of the Grozny court to sentence Nikita Zhuravel, a Volgograd resident, who burned the Koran, to 3.5 years in prison will be challenged, his defence has stated. Although his custody time at the SIZO (pre-trial prison) will be deducted from his term, while in colony, Zhuravel will always be at risk of being attacked by religion followers, readers of the "Caucasian Knot" have noted in their comments.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that a court in Grozny had found Zhuravel guilty of violating the right to religion, and of hooliganism. After the verdict was announced, he asked for forgiveness from Muslims for "having offended their religious feelings with his act," the "Mash Gor" Telegram channel reports.

Nikita has noted that he came to the conclusion that he should not have burned the Koran. He has added that he continues studying the Koran and is making progress in this endeavour.

"With account the conditions in which Zhuravel was kept, and Chechen authorities' personal hostility towards him, which was expressed in his beating up by Kadyrov's son at the SIZO, the verdict can be treated as relatively lenient. The important issue is where Zhuravel will serve his sentence. If he is sent to a colony in Chechnya, it is not a fact that his beating up won't be committed again. Among convicted Muslims, there may be many who'd like to repeat the Adam Kadyrov's 'feat'," the "Caucasian Knot" reader vallie has noted.

"This is a rare case when the court awards the defendant as much as the state prosecutor has demanded. Usually, the demanded term is at least slightly reduced," the user nena.dubuqu has written.