MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian man was tried Thursday on charges of high treason over a video he allegedly sent to Ukrainian security services, the latest in a growing string of espionage cases amid the fighting in Ukraine.
The Volgograd District Court has opened a new case against Nikita Zhuravel, who is currently serving a 3.5-year prison sentence for publicly burning a Quran in front of a mosque.
The new charges against Zhuravel are based on allegations that he filmed a trainload of military equipment and warplanes in 2023 and sent the video to a representative of the Ukrainian security service. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Rights activists say Zhuravel is a political prisoner and condemned the violence against him in custody.
While in pre-trial detention before his first sentence, Zhuravel was beaten by the 15-year-old son of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed strongman leader of the predominantly Muslim region of Chechnya. The elder Kadyrov posted the video on social media and praised his son, sparking public outrage. He later awarded his son the medal of ‘Hero of the Republic of Chechnya’.
Federal authorities have refrained from any criticism of the Chechen strongman.
The number of treason and espionage cases has skyrocketed after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022. They targeted a wide range of suspects, from Kremlin critics and independent journalists to senior scientists, drawing criticism from rights groups.
The legal definition of treason has been expanded to include providing vaguely defined “assistance” to foreign countries or organizations, effectively exposing anyone who comes into contact with foreigners to prosecution.
