A teenager in Kabardino-Balkaria was reportedly beaten and was forced to publicly apologise for appearing in a video in which he mocked the Quran.

In the video, the teenager is seen holding a tissue and saying, ‘look, I’m wiping my ass with the Quran’, while two others record him and laugh. 

In a separate video, reportedly filmed at a school in Nartkala, several teenagers are seen gathered around a boy, presumably the one seen mocking the Quran. The teenagers are seen pushing the boy around.

In what appears to be a follow-up to the video shot in the school, the boy was filmed apologising for mocking the Quran.

‘I want to apologise to all believers, to Muslims around the world. Secondly, and first of all, I want to apologise to Allah Almighty for the fact that I committed such a disgusting act. I am aware of my guilt’, said the boy.

On Tuesday, the chair Spiritual Administration of Muslims in Kabardino-Balkaria condemned the video and stated that their chair, Hazrataliy Dzaseshev, had met with the boy and his father earlier that day.

‘The teenagers who committed this act repented before Allah Almighty, asked for forgiveness from all Muslim believers, said that they sincerely regretted what they had done and promised not to commit such acts in the future’, read the administration’s statement.

Footage from the meeting later emerged, in which Dzaseshev is seen chastising the boy and his father.

‘Such actions cause a public outcry, which is what various forces trying to destabilise the situation in the region can hope for’, said Dzaseshev adding that the boy would face ‘legal consequences’.

RFE/RL has reported that the meeting was attended by the head of the Meskhetian Turks community, Ilyaz Pashaliyev, suggesting that the boy could be a member of his community.

The boy’s father apologised for not ‘looking after’ his son.

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