Nikita Zhuravel, a man convicted for burning a copy of the Quran and for treason, who was later beaten by Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov’s son Adam Kadyrov, has ‘disappeared’ during a prison transfer.
There has been no information about Zhuravel’s whereabouts since 24 December 2025, his lawyer Andrei Sabinin said in an appeal to a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Human Rights, Eva Mekacheva.
In the appeal, published by Merkacheva on her Telegram channel, it is stated that Zhuravel was transferred from Moscow in the final days of December. On 24 December, his relatives received a letter sent from Ulyanovsk, after which all contact with him ceased.
‘His relatives and I are concerned for Nikita’s life and health, especially since there is no evidence that he is alive’, Sabinin wrote, asking for assistance in locating him.
The lawyer also stated that in the pre-trial detention centre in Volgograd, where Zhuravel was held from October 2024 to November 2025, he was denied long visits with his parents.
Commenting on the situation, Merkacheva has said that the lack of information about prisoners during transfer remains a widespread problem. She noted that the administration of a correctional facility must notify one of the prisoner’s relatives of their arrival at the place of detention no later than 10 days. In addition, under Russian law, the administration of a pre-trial detention centre must inform relatives where the prisoner is being sent. At the same time, such notification is carried out only if the prisoner has given consent and specified a particular recipient. Accordingly, many prisoners may not do so while under pressure from the detention facility administration.
Zhuravel was born in Crimea, Ukraine, which came under Russian occupation in 2014. He studied at a cadet school and later at a university in Volgograd. In May 2023, Zhuravel was detained and charged in connection with a video showing a burning copy of the Quran in front of a mosque.
Soon afterwards, Zhuravel and his case were transferred to Chechnya on the instructions of the head of the Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, despite this being contrary to the Russian criminal procedure code, which requires investigations into alleged crimes be take place where they occurred — in this case, Volgograd. Outside the detention centre in Grozny, Zhuravel was met by participants of a rally organised by local authorities, who called for a ‘people’s court’.
After his arrest, Zhuravel was beaten in the Grozny Detention Centre by Adam Kadyrov. Ramzan Kadyrov stated at the time that his son had defended Islam by beating Zhuravel.
In February 2024, Zhuravel was sentenced by the Grozny court for burning the Quran. The court classified his actions as hooliganism and insulting the religious feelings of believers and imposed a sentence of three and a half years in prison.
During the court hearings, Zhuravel apologised to Muslims and stated that he admitted his guilt in burning the book, but claimed that he had no motive for committing such a gross violation of public order.
A few months later, another criminal case was opened against Zhuravel, this time accusing him of ‘state treason’. In November 2024, he was also found guilty of cooperating with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). According to the investigation, he allegedly passed a video of a railway train carrying Russian military equipment and aircraft to an SBU officer.
The human rights organisation Memorial has recognised Zhuravel as a political prisoner. The organisation stated that even if Zhuravel was proven to have burnt the Quran, it should be treated as an administrative offence rather than a criminal one.
Elizaveta Chukharova
