In Zhuravel’s case, witness associates burning of Koran with “Utro Dagestan” Telegram channel

A video of the burning of the Koran in Volgograd was posted on the “Utro Dagestan” (Morning Dagestan) Telegram channel, which is associated with the recent riots at an airport in Makhachkala, states a witness in a case against Nikita Zhuravel.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on November 2, the court questioned two witnesses in the case on the burning of the Koran in Volgograd, and Nikita Zhuravel himself asked for forgiveness from Muslims for his act.

Nikita Zhuravel’s defence will not appeal the police refusal to institute a criminal case regarding his beating in a SIZO (pre-trial prison) by Adam Kadyrov, reports advocate Yulia Antonova.

Ilyas Bektimirov, the imam of the Volgograd Cathedral Mosque, and Volgograd journalist Ivan Bogdanov, who were testifying in court on November 2, pointed to the “Utro Dagestan” Telegram channel which was associated with the recent riots at the Makhachkala airport, as a source of the video with the burning of the Koran.

On October 30, the “Utro Dagestan” Telegram channel, which is believed to coordinate the unrest, was blocked.

“On May 19, while looking through the feeds of Telegram channels, I went to the ‘Utro Dagestan’ channel, where I saw the video in question,” stated Ivan Bogdanov as quoted by the “RIA Novosti” information agency.